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SPOTLESS  a4ND  FEARLESS. 

THE   STORY   OF 
THE     CHEVALIER     BAYAKD. 


'^Mh^' 


"  Praise  of  him  must  walk  the  earth 
For  ever,  and  to  noble  deeds  give  birth. 
This  is  the  happy  warrior  :  this  is  he 
That  every  man  in  arms  would  wish  to  be." 

Wordsworth. 


''SPOTLESS     24\D    FEARLESS:' 

THE     STORY    OF 

THE    CHEVALIER    'BAYARD, 

FROM  THE  FRENCH  OF  THE  LOYAL 

SERVANT.  M.  DE  BERVILLE,! 

AND  OTHERS. 

BY   EDITH   WALFORD, 

WITH    NOTES    AND    INTRODUCTION    BY 

THE    EDITOR. 


rtitrli  (Piiitton. 

X1<:VV     YORK: 
SCRIBNER,   WELFORD,    AND   CO. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 


NTRODUCTORY  ESSAY 


Chapter  I. 


Parentage  and  birth  of  Bayard.    Death  of  Aymond 
Tei-rail.      The  Bishop  of  Grenoble.     Bayard's  first 
tournament.     Bellabre  and  the  Abbot.     Generosity  of  Bayard  . 


Chapter  II. 
Bayard  follows  Charles  VIII.  into  Italy, 
himself.    Death  of  the  king 


Bayard  distinguishes 


Chapter  III. 
Lonis  XII.  sncceeds  to  the  throne.     Bayard  gives  a  tonmament. 
Italian  towns  submit  to  Lndovic  Sforza.     Bayard  is  taken  prisoner. 
Generosity  of  Sforza 23 


Chapter  IV. 
Lndovic  is  attacked  and  defeated  in  Novarra.  Ludovic  is  taken 
prisoner.  His  death.  Other  Italian  towns  are  conquered.  Gene- 
rosity of  Bayard.  Naples  is  conquered.  Treaty  with  Ferdinand  of 
Arragon.  Adventures  of  Bayard.  Don  Alonzo  prisoner.  His  escape 
and  re-capture.  Bayard  challenges  Don  Alonzo.  Death  of  the 
Spaniard 


30 


Chapter  V. 
Bayard's  thanksgiving.     A  truce  is  proclaimed.      Bayard  skir- 
mishes   with    Spaniards,    is    victorious.      Dispute  with   Tardieu. 
Bayard's  usual  generosity 41 

b 


vi  CONTENTS. 

Chapter  VI. 

Page 
Engagement  at  the  Garilliano.  Bayard  is  taken  prisoner  and 
recaptured.  Julius  II.  hostile  to  France.  Illness  of  Bayard.  Bay- 
ard takes  a  mountain  fort.  Paul  de  Novi  beheaded.  Further 
victories  in  Italy.  Padua  surprised,  and  retaken  by  the  Venetians, 
Count  of  Petigliano  occupies  Padua.  The  emperor  with  Chabannes 
and  Bayard  take  Montselles  and  encamp  before  Padua.  Hot  fighting 
at  the  barriers  of  "Vicenza.  Enormous  booty.  Treason  in  the  camp. 
Skirmishes.  INIalvezze  is  attacked  and  routed.  He  escapes. 
Bayard  is  congratulated 44 

Chapter  VII. 
Skirmish  with  Scanderbeg.  Guignes  Geoffrey  takes  a  prisoner. 
Bravery  of  the  young  soldier.  Bayard  takes  the  Castle  of  Bassano. 
Valuable  booty.  Dispute  between  victor  and  vanquished.  Cha- 
bannes is  perplexed.  Bayard  solves  the  difiiculty.  Germans  refuse 
to  go  to  the  breach 65 

Chapter  VIII. 
Departure  of  the  Emperor.     Return  of  the  armies  to  Vicenza. 
Separation.      Bayard  at  Verona.      His  exploits.      Bayard   meets 
Manfroni.     Foraging  party  surprised.     Bayard's  horse  is  killed. 
Bayard  victorious 76 

Chapter  IX. 
Treachery  of  a  spy.  Captain  Sucker  does  good  service.  Bayard 
defeats  Manfroni.  Bayard  well  received  in  Italy.  French  re- 
inforcement. Lignago  is  taken.  Death  of  Cardinal  d*Amboise. 
Shocking  cruelty.  Return  to  Montselles.  Meeting  with  Croates. 
Lord  Mercure  and  his  cousin.     Re-taking  of  Montselles  .         .       84 

Chapter  X. 
Julius   II.  declares  war  against  Ferrara,    Another  treacherous 
spy.    Total  defeat  of  the  French.     Death  of  Malherbe.     Gritti's 
stratagem  fails 97 

Chapter  XI. 
Julius  II.  and  La  Mirandola.     Bayard  and  others  prepare  to  aid 
the  Countess.     Bayard  lays  a  plan 104 

Chapter  XII. 
The   Pope  saved  by  a  snowstorm.     Severe  frost.    The  Countess 
capitulates.   La  Mirandola  taken.  Julius  contemplates  the  reduction 
of  Ferrara.     He  determines  to  take  La  Bastia 108 


CONTENTS.  yii 

Chapter  XIII.  Page 
Bayara  tne  Counsellor.     His  advice  is  taken.     La  Bastia  ap- 
proached.    Defeat  of  the  Pope 113 

Chapter  XIV. 
Anne  Sforza.     Death  of  the  Lord  of  !Montoison.     Duke  of  Urbino 
opposes  the  siege  of  Ferrara.     Julias  plans  to  take  the  town  by  sur- 
prise.    Horrible  treachery  of  the  Pope.    Surprise  of  Bayard.    Dis- 
agreement of  the  Duke  and  Bayard 119 

Chapter  XV. 

Julius  returns  to  Rome,  Marshal  Trivulce  retakes  La  Mirandola. 
Glory  of  Bayard.  Bayard  accompanies  Chabannes.  A  duel. 
Venetians  besiege  Verona.  Bayard  avenges  the  Baron  of  Conti's 
death.  Army  stops  at  Carpi.  A  marvellous  astrologer.  Fortune- 
telling.  Strange  predictions.  Duke  of  Nemours  goes  to  Ferrara. 
The  siege  of  Bologna  is  raised 127 

Chapter  XVI. 
Brescia.    Juvenile  quarrel.     Brescia  taken.     The  castle  holds 
out.     After  much  fighting  Brescia  is  retaken.     Bayard  wounded. 
Conveyed  to  a  neighbouring  house.    Generous  and  friendly  conduct  to 
its  inmates.     The  Duke  de  Nemours  visits  Bayard  daily  .        .    133 

Chapter  XVII.  , 

Bayard  is  convalescent.  The  surgeon  takes  leave  of  him.  Affecting 
interviews  between  Bayard  and  his  host's  family.  Bayard's  gene- 
rosity.    Bayard  receives  presents,  and  takes  his  leave     .        .        .     153 

Chapter  XVIII. 
Bayard  goes  to  Bologna.     Captain  Jacob.     Opinions  are  divided. 
Ravenna  is  cannonaded.     The  Baron  of  Beam  and  Bayard  go  out 
to  skirmish.    They  retreat  in  good  order.     Battle  is  ordered  for 
Easter  Sunday 158 

Chapter  XIX. 
A  bridge  is  built.     Conversation  between  Bayard  and  Don  Pedro 
de  Paes.     The  battle  of  Ravenna  commences.     Captain  Jacob  dies. 
The  Duke  of  Nemours  dies.     Total  defeat  of  the  Spaniards     .        .     168 

Chapter  XX. 
Letter  of  the  Knight  Bayard  to  Laurent  Alleman,  his  uncle,  on 
the  battle  of  Ravenna 181 


yiii  CONTENTS. 

Chapter  XXI.  Page 
Obsequies  of  the  Dnke  of  Nemours.  The  Pope's  orders  disre- 
garded. The  Cardinal  de  Medicis  escapes.  Engagement  at  Pa\'ia. 
Bayard  wounded.  Bayard  visits  Grenoble.  He  fetes  the  nobility. 
A  gallant  adventure.  Bayard's  noble  mindedness.  Bayard  follows 
the  army  to  Pampeluna.  The  lansquenets  refuse  to  fight.  A  suc- 
cessful adventure.  An  amusing  lansquenet.  The  siege  of  Pampe- 
luna is  raised 185 

Chapter  XXII. 
Bayard's  hospitality.  Julius  II.  dies.  French  retreat  from  Italy 
with  great  loss.  Henry  "VIII.  nearly  taken  prisoner.  Bayard  is 
taken  prisoner,  and  takes  a  prisoner.  Their  dispute  is  settled. 
Louis  marries  Mary,  sister  to  Henry  VIII.  Louis  dies,  and  is  suc- 
ceeded by  Francis  I.     Colonna  is  taken  prisoner        ...  193 

Chapter  XXIII. 
Bayard  narrowly  escapes  death.    The  Swiss  are  entirely  defeated, 
and  return  to  their  country.     The  king  is  knighted  by  Bayard. 
Ferdinand  of  Arragon  is  knighted 213 

Chapter  XXIV. 
A  dauphin  is  born.     Bayard  saves  the  town  of  Mezieres        .        .    225 

Chapter  XXV. 

Bayard  returns   to   France,  where  he    exercises  his   generous 
(qualities 235 

Chapter  XXVI. 
Lodi  is  taken.      Bayard  is  made  to  occupy  a  dangerous  post. 
Bayard  is  mortally  wounded 233 

Chapter  XXVII. 
Generosity  of  the  Marquis  of  Pescara.     Bayard  dies.     Character 
of  Bayard 245 

Additional  Notes        .        .       ; 253 

Epitaph  op  Bayabd 255 


INTRODUCTION. 

jHE  name  of  Bayard'  is  very  familiar  to 
all  of  us  English,  who  love  bravery  and  a 
career  of  adventure ;  but  the  story  of  the 
life  of  the  Spotless  and  Fearless  Knight  is 
very  little  known.  It  is  now  two  centuries  and  a-half 
since  Etienne  Pasquier  wrote  that  he  endeavoured  "  to 
refresh  and  restore  the  memory  of  a  good  knight  almost 
buried  beneath  the  ingratitude  of  years."  And  his 
later  French  biographer,  M.  Henry  D'Audigier,  writing 
in  1862,  quotes  these  words,  which  we  cannot  do  better 
than  adopt.  For  such  a  memory  is  worth  restoring, 
not  because  the  man  was  a  brave  soul,  but  because  he 
was  generous,  just,  merciful,  a  despiser  of  mere  riches, 

*  Bayar?  and  not  Bayard.  We  write  the  name  as  our  hero 
signed  it  himself.  The  President  Salvaing  de  Bossiero,  in  the 
17th  century,  criticised  the  common  orthography,  and  said: 
"  Bayartius  sic  enim  vocandus,  non  ut  vulgb,  Bayardus."  So  M, 
D'Audigier.  We  have  been,  however,  constrained  to  use  the 
spelling  now  so  thoroughly  accepted  in  France,  Spain  (whence 
perpahs  Bayardos  the  first  deflection),  Germany,  and  England, 
that  the  true  name  looks  strange  and  pedantic;  and  thus  Shak- 
spere,  perhaps  though  the  more  correct,  looks  somewhat  like  an 
offence  to  those  Avho  prefer  the  chivalric  and  heroic  Shake-spear. 


X  INTR  on  UCTION. 

a  model  of  manly  virtues,  cheerful  as  the  day,  witty, 
modest,  and  full  of  that  kind  of  "pluck,"  to  use  a 
common  but  expressive  word,  which  always  rose  to 
its  greatest  height  in  any  danger,  rose  with  the  danger, 
and  faced  it  to  the  last ;  moreover,  because  he  carried 
out  fairly  and  truly  Wordsworth's  character  of  the 
happy  warrior,  who  in  sudden  danger  was  not  cast 
down,  but — 

'<  Happy  as  a  lover;   and  attired 
With  sudden  brightness  as  a  man  inspired." 

And  because  he  will  recall  to  modern  ears,  says 
M.  D'Audigier,  "those  old  and  too  little  remembered 
words,  honour,  duty,  justice,  loyalty,  liberality,  gallantry 
and  gaiety"  (the  gladness  of  good  sense,  and  a  pure  con- 
science, that  fine  humour  which  inspires  strong  and 
healthy  souls),  "all  noble  and  charming  things,  once  sig- 
nified by  a  single  word  Chivalry^  of  which  one  Chevalier'^ 
Bayard  was  the  very  personification,  the  best  that  is 
found  in  our  annals." 

"Three  qualities,"  says  the  Loyal  Servant,  "marked 
him  for  a  perfect  soldier;  he  was  a  greyhound  for  attack, 
a  wildboar  in  defence,  and  a  wolf  in  retreat.  In  short," 
concludes  this  excellent  writer,  his  friend  and  secretary, 


^  Knighthood  and  knight  would  be  the  exact  translation  of 
chevalrie  and  chevalier,  but  of  course  in  our  tongue  the  strict  im- 
port of  the  words  has  been  lost,  since  the  government  makes 
knights  of  successful  timber  merchants,  plotting  law3'ers,  grocers, 
who  deliver  an  address,  and  mere  citizens,  who  by  chance  fill 
the  office  of  mayor  when  royalty  passes  by,  or  its  guest  honours 
the  city.  As  it  would  be  impossible  for  any  one  to  understand 
M.  D'Audigier's  graceful  antithetical  figure  by  the  meaning 
affixed  to  the  words  knight  and  knighthood,  I  have  retained  the 
French  form. 


INTR  OB  UCTION.  xl 

"it  would  take  a  good  orator  his  life  to  recount  all 
his  virtues ;  I,  who  am  unskilled  in  learning,  cannot 
pretend  to  it."  And  yet,  though  he  puts  it  thus,  he 
paints  with  such  skill,  that  it  is  a  pity  that  his  book 
should  die.  In  his  pages  we  see  and  hear  the  good 
knight,  and  behold  him  always  joyous  and  merry,  a 
true  gentleman  of  the  grand  old  school,  remounting  a 
poor  knight,  by  exchanging  a  Spanish  charger,  worth 
300  cro-vns,  for  a  sorry  nag  worth  six,  and  persuading 
the  gentleman  that  the  latter  was  just  the  nag  to  suit 
his  purpose.  He  was  but  a  poor  flatterer,  and  always 
spoke  the  truth,  even  to  the  greatest  princes.  He  looked 
with  contempt  on  this  world's  wealth,  and  was  at  his 
death  no  licher  than  at  his  birth.  "In  war  none  excelled 
him ;  in  conduct  he  was  a  Fabius  Maximus ;  in  enter- 
prize,  a  Coriolanus ;  in  courage  and  magnanimity,  a 
second  Hector." 

As  the  grandfather  and  great-grandfather  of  Bayard 
fell  fighting  against  the  English,  and  the  good  knight  him- 
self crossed  swords  with  us,  and  was  a  prisoner  to  our 
king,  it  se3ms  to  me  a  worthy  thing  to  put  his  life  be- 
fore a  nition  that  always  loved  the  qualities  which 
distinguished  him ;  moreover  the  book  is  full  of  interest, 
and  althcugh  it  ends  tragically — if  a  glorious  death  be 
tragic — :s  yet.  as  its  originator  calls  it,  a  right  joyous, 
pleasant,  and  refreshing  history,  full  of  most  interesting 
pictures,  described  by  an  eye-witness,  who  speaks  not 
like  an  uncertain  chronicler,  but  as  one  who  had  seen 
what  he  described.  This  gentleman  (possibly  Jacques 
Jeoffre  o.^Millieu,  see  p.  244),  who  has  not  let  posterity 
know  his  name,  but  who  calls  himself  "  The  Loyal 
Servant,'  put  forth  his  book  in  1527,  three  years  after 
the  hero's  death,  and  from  that  the  following  title-page 
is  transcribed : — 


xii  INTRODUCTION. 

JLa  tres  fopeuse  platffante 

rccrcatibe  ijgetoire,  compose  par  le  lopal  scitiiteur  tJes  fai? 

CC0te0  triompijes  et  proucsses  Uu  fcoit  c!)CtiaUer  0an0  paour 

ct  0an0  reprouci)?  le  gentil  ©eicncur  tie  ^Sapart  Uoitt 

|)umaine0   Iouen(5e0  cont  repantjue0   par   route 

la  ci)re0ticnte  De  plu0ieur0  autrc0  bon0  baillaiw 

tt  tjertueujc  capitainc0  qui  ont  C0re  tie  0on 

tcmp0.     ©nsemble  0r0  cuerre0  batail* 

Ie0  rencontre0  et  a00aulj  qui  tie 

0on    bitant   0ont   0urtene0 

tant  en  JFrance  <K0pai- 

Giie  que  3ltalie, 

Paris,  1527.  ? 

This  work  is  the  basis  of  every  life  that  we  have  of 
Bayard,  and  it  is  so  well  written  and  amtsing  that 
others  have  done  well  to  do  little  else  but  cooy  it.  In 
1616,  M.  Theodore  de  Godefroy,'^  published  a  quarto 
volume,  with  a  portrait  of  Bayard,  probably  about  as 
unlike  him  as  a  portrait*  well  can  be,  and  being  little 
else  but  the  story  of  the  Loyal  Servant  reprinted  in 
more  modern  French,  with  the  addition  of  100  pages  of 
annotations,  chiefly  without  interest. 

'  Histoire  du  Chevalier  Bayard,  Lieutenant-General  pour 
Roy  au  Gouvernement  de  Dauphin^,  &c.  &c.,  by  Theodore 
Godefroy.     Paris,  1616. 

*  It  represents  the  chevalier  as  a  hard-featured  min,  with  a 
Saracen 's-head  look,  in  armour,  with  a  hand  leaning  on  his 
helmet.  The  armour  has  the  merit  of  being  soraewhit  like  the 
armour  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  though  the  casque  has  an 
impracticable  visor.  Our  own  portrait  has  a  Romai  helmet, 
but  is  the  received  likeness  of  Baj-ard  adopted  from  hfe  bust  set 
over  his  tomb  in  the  Church  of  the  Minims,  founded  by  his 
uncle  the  Bishop  of  Grenoble. 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 

In  1789,  at  Grenoble,  a  place  dear  to  Bayard,  M. 
Gagnon  fils,  avocat  au  parlement,  made  a  grand  Historic 
Eulogium  on  Bayard,  in  which  he  repeats  many  of  the 
gestes  and  feats  of  the  knight,  and  this  eloge  was  honour- 
ably mentioned.  In  1834,  M.  Cimber,  of  the  Biblio- 
theque  Royale  of  Paris,  published,  in  his  collection  of 
curious  archives  in  the  history  of  France,  four  curious 
works  (he  says  six,  but  two  are  suppressed),  which 
relate  to  Bayard,  some  contain  his  moral  sayings,  the 
fourth  compares  him  with  "  three  Gentiles,  three  Jews, 
and  three  Christians;"  the  sixth  contains  orations, 
lamentations,  and  epitaphs.  The  first  of  these  books 
was  composed  by  Messire  Symphorien  Champier,  doctor 
and  knight,  and  has  been  used  for  the  sake  of  anno- 
tations, though  it  contains  little  worth  studying  ;  from 
the  last  we  here  translate  the  following  proverbs  and 
moral  answers  of  Bayard,  and  transcribe  a  song,  worthy 
to  be  remembered  on  account  of  its  quaint  sadness. 

"  One  day  a  noble  knight  asked  Bayard  what  goods 
and  chattels  a  gentleman  should  leave  to  his  children? 

"  Answered  the  knight, '  The  father  should  leave  that 
which  fears  no  rain,  tempest,  or  the  force  of  man,  or 
the  weakness  of  human  justice,  that  is,  wisdom  and 
virtue,  like  indeed  unto  him  who  would  plant  a  garden, 
and  put  therein  good  seed  and  sound  trees.' 

"  Said  another  to  him :  '  What  difference  is  there 
between  a  wise  man  and  a  fool  ?" 

" '  The  same,'  said  he,  '  that  there  is  between  a  sick 
man  and  his  doctor.' 

"  Another  said  to  him  with  a  sneer,  '  Well,  Bayard, 
certes  I  can  behold  goodly  lands,  and  worldly  riches,  but 
I  never  can  clap  my  eyes  on  that  prudence  and  wisdom 
that  you  have  so  much  praised.' 

^'•Respondet  kmghi  Bayard,  'Certes,  I  wonder  not  at 


xiv  INTR  OD  UCTION. 

all  that  you  see  earthly  goods,  for  you  have  eyes  of 
earth,  earthy,  but  you  have  not  the  eyes  of  heaven,  to 
behold  prudence,  and  to  catch  sight  of  wisdom.' 

"  One  day  Bayard  heard  two  young  pages  swearing  by 
the  name  of  God,  and  he  punished  them  very  severely. 

'"Knight  Bayard,'  said  a  gentleman,  'you  punish 
these  boys  for  a  very  little  thing.' 

'"Little  thing!'  cried  the  knight.  'A  bad  habit 
contracted  in  youth  is  no  little  thing,  but  a  great  thing 
indeed.' 

"  The  good  knight  said  many  other  moral  proverbs, 
but  they  have  quite  slipped  my  memory." 

Thus  far  the  chronicler,  and  considering  how  good 
those  are  that  he  has  given  us,  we  must  be  sorry  that 
they  have  done  so.^ 

In  1699,  Aimac,  a  barrister,  (avocat),  published  at 
Lyons  a  life  of  Bayard,  at  which  we  have  glanced,  and 
which  is  well  characterized  by  M.  Petitot,^  as  forming 
a  little  volume  in  12mo.,  and  being  written  with  extreme 
meanness  (d'une  grande  mediocrite).  In  1702,  a  new 
history  of  Bayard  appeared  in  Paris,  in  12mo.,  under 
the  name  of  the  Prior  de  Louval,  the  true  author  be- 
ing the  Canon  of  Avalon.  "  His  book,"  says  M.  Petitot, 
"  is  merely  that  of  the  Loyal  Servant  painfully  trans- 
lated into  the  modern  tongue." 

In  1760,  M.  Guyard  de  Berville  published  a  "  Histoire 
du  Bayard,"  which  ran  through  many  editions.     "This 

^  M.  Cimber  adds  that  "  Bayard  once  told  a  lord  that  he 
should  only  surround  himself  with  worth)^  people,  and  it  appears 
that  it  is  to  him  that  Ave  owe  this  proverb,  '  Like  master,  like 
man.' "  Tel  maitre,  tel  valet.  Valet  did  not  then  signify  the 
menial  thing  it  does  now,  but  a  follower  in  the  field  of  battle. 

^  Collection  complete  des  Memoires  relatifs  a  I'Histoire  de 
France,  depuis  le  regne  de  Phillippe-Auguste,  jusqu'au  com- 
mencement du  dix-septieme  siecle,  &c..  par  M.  Petitot.  Paris, 
1827. 


INTRODUCTION.  xv 

work,"  says  Petitot,  "is  weakly  written,  and  is  only 
valuable  on  this  account,  that  its  author  has  neglected 
nothing  which  can  make  us  better  acquainted  with  our 
hero."  The  truth  is  that  M.  de  Berville  has  taken  from 
Champier,  Godefroy,  and  others,  all  that  he  could,  has 
given  the  dates  of  the  episodes,  connected  the  story  by 
relating  the  political  history  which  led  to  the  various 
battles,  and  has  made  the  memoirs  of  the  Loyal  Servant 
thoroughly  connected  and  historical.  As  to  its  weak- 
ness, that  should  disappear  in  a  vigorous  translation  did 
it  exist,  but  it  does  not.  In  all  that  relates  to  our  hero, 
De  Berville  copies  the  Loyal  Servant  so  closely,  that 
Southey's  vigorous  English  reads  as  a  mere  translation 
of  De  Berville  :  hence  his  book  has  been  used  as  the 
basis  of  the  present  volume. 

In  1825,  Robert  Southey  translated,  or  caused  to  be 
translated,  the  life  of  Bayard  from  the  book  of  the  Loyal 
Servant.  It  was  published  by  Murray  in  two  volumes, 
but  is  carelessly  done.  Every  now  and  then  the 
translator  misses  the  sense  of  the  author,  and  some 
words,  such  as  grande-huffe^  he  utterly  mistakes;  never- 
theless there  is  fine  and  vigorous  English  about  it,  as 
there  is  in  all  Southey's  work,  and  we  have  availed 
ourselves  of  the  book  and  its  annotations,  whereby  we 
have  found  that  our  book  has  been  made  more  complete 
and  interesting.  In  1848,  Edward  Cockburn  Kindersley 
published  a  condensed  translation  in  English  of  the 
Loyal  Servant's  work,  to  the  notes  of  which,  some  of 
them  furnished  by  Mr.  Albert  Way,  we  confess  our 
obligations.    And  in  1862,  M.  Henry  D'Audigier'^  pub- 


■^  Histoire  de  Pierre  Terrail,  seigneur  de  Bayart,  dit  Le 
Chevalier  sans  peur,  et  sans  reproche,  par  Henrv  D'Audigier. 
Paris,  1862. 


XVI 


INTR  OB  UCTION. 


lished  a  volume,  which  is  a  kind  of  romance,  written 
in  the  subjective  style  which  Lord  Macaulay  made  so 
popular  in  England,  but  which  every  scholar  knows  to 
be  so  false.  Thus,  when  a  late  pictorial  writer  describes 
our  Saviour  as  having  his  face  suffused  by  a  modest 
blush  when  he  stooped  down  to  write  that  awful  and 
marvellous  sentence  in  the  dust :  "  Let  him  who  is 
without  sin  amongst  you  cast  the  first  stone ;"  relative 
to  the  woman  taken  in  adultery,  everyone  feels  that  the 
assertion  is  impudent  and  untrue.  The  judge  does  not 
blush  for  the  woman ;  a  blush  assumes  a  perturbation 
of  feeling  utterly  foreign  to  the  nature  of  the  Incarnate. 
So  when  Mr.  H.  Dixon,  in  his  Holy  Land,  describes 
the  Saviour  and  his  apostles,  as  if  he  had  been  at  their 
elbows  noting  down  the  little  idylls,  as  he  queerly  calls 
the  miraculous  works  of  the  anointed  Christ,  we  feel 
that  the  realism  is  impertinent  and  false,  and  that  it 
utterly  misses  its  aim ;  so  also  this  writer's  exquisitely 
outre  phrase,  with  which  he  commences  one  of  his 
chapters,  shocks  us  plain  men  :  "  On  the  whip  hand, 
as  you  enter  Jerusalem,  you  observe,"  &c.  This  might 
have  been  written  by  an  Arab,  did  an  Arab  carry  a 
whip,  but  not  by  a  writer  who  was  barely  a  fortnight 
in  the  city  with  which  he  is  so  marvellously  familiar. 

In  a  like  manner  we  think  that  M.  Henry  D'Audigier 
has  failed  through  want  of  taste  in  his  story  of  Bayard. 
He  has  "  reported "  speeches  that  were  never  made, 
described  certain  days  as  fine,  full  of  sunshine,  or  black 
with  rain,  to  suit  his  purpose,  and  has  produced  a  novel, 
not  a  history.  It  is,  no  doubt,  very  vivid,  but  a  little 
thought  entirely  overthrows  the  scafiblding,  and  makes 
great  holes  in  the  canvas,  painted  to  look  like  stone. 
But  M.  D'Audigier  has  a  noble  comprehension  of  our 
hero,  and  to  his  book  and  its  notes  we  are  indebted  for 


INTR  OD  UCTION.  x  vii 

some  interesting  facts  in  this  introduction.  To  various 
other  histories  and  works ^  we  are  also  indebted. 

To  those  who  think  of  kings  and  royal  personages  as 
beings  able  to  use  their  brains,  and  to  recognize  and 
reward  talent, — a  light  in  which,  as  boys  with  many 
romantic  illusions,  many  of  us  loyally  regard  them, — 
one  will  wonder  that  Bayard  was  so  little  regarded  and 
recompensed  by  his  monarch.  "  I  have  lost  a  great 
captain,  whose  name  made  my  armies  to  be  honoured 
and  feared,  and  truly  he  merited  better  employment 
and  higher  charges  than  ever  I  gave  him,"  That  is 
what  Francis  I.  of  France  said  of  him ;  and  afterwards, 
as  he  well  had  cause,  he  was  heard  to  murmur :  "  Ah  ! 
Captain  Bayard,  how  much.  I  do  miss  you" 

A  strange  confession  for  such  a  king.  But  what  does 
it  amount  to,  says  M.  D'Audigier.  Francis  thought  of 
Bayard,  no  doubt ;  but  why?  because  his  interests  suf- 
fered, not  his  heart.  Kings  make  use  of  their  Bayards, 
but  they  love  only  their  Bonnivets. 

Henry  FV,  as  it  was  fitting,  passing  by  Grenoble  in 
1601,  remembered  Bayard,  and  asked  was  there  no  mo- 
nument to  him.  He  said  he  would  have  liked  to  have 
raised  a  tomb  to  so  pure,  so  beautiful  a  fame  ;  but  words 
did  not  ripen  into  deeds.  In  1619  the  government  of 
the  province  voted  a  thousand  livres  for  a  statue  ;  but  it 
was  only  a  vote — they  could  not  spare  them.  What, 
could  not  the  descendants  of  those  hundred  orphan  girls 
— noblewomen     and     gentlewomen — whom    the    good 


^  Especially  to  "Archives  curieuses  de  I'Histoire  de  France, 
depuis  Louis  XI.  jusqu'a  Louis  XVII;  ou  Collection  des  pieces 
rares  et  interessantes,  celles  que  chroniques  m^moires,  &c.,  par 
M.  L.  Ciniber  et  autres  personnes  employees  k  la  Bibliotheque 
Royale."    Paris,  1834. 


xviii  INTRODUCTION. 

knight  had  dowered  with  his  property,  "  sans  en  faire 
bruit,"  without  making  any  fuss  about  it,  spare  a  livre  or 
so  ?  asks  a  writer.  No,  it  was  not  to  be  so.  About 
1650,  a  private  gentleman,  neither  relation  nor  connec- 
tion of  the  knight,  named  Scipio  de  Polloud,  raised  a 
white  marble  bust  to  his  memory  in  the  church  of  the 
Minims,  on  a  tomb  surmounted  by  a  Latin  epitaph, 
of  which  we  have  given  a  copy  ;  and  at  last,  in  June, 
1823,  three  hundred  years  too  late,  a  statue  was  raised 
at  the  Place  of  St.  Andre,  Grenoble,  to  the  memory  of 
Bayard.  The  artist  had  to  draw  from  imagination,  for 
history  supplies  but  a  vague  guide  for  him  to  work 
from ;  but  what  boots  it  ? 

Bayard's  daughter,  Jeanne,  married,  one  year  after  her 
father's  death,  Francois  de  Bocsozel,  Seigneur  de  Chas- 
telart,  and  her  descendants  are  represented  in  1823  by 
Madame  d'Attenas,  nee  Bocsozel,  who  was  invited  to 
the  inauguration  of  the  too  tardily  raised  statue. 
George,  the  only  brother  of  the  good  knight  who  mar- 
ried, died  without  heirs  male,  and  the  last  holders  of  the 
name  of  Terrail,  issue  of  a  cousin  of  our  hero,  died  out, 
in  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century;  so  that  the 
name  Bayard  alone  survives :  that  name  (I  remember 
with  pleasure)  was,  by  common  consent,  applied  to  my 
revered  friend  Sir  James  Outram,  one  as  widely  appre- 
ciated and  as  generally  neglected  as  the  good  knight — 
who  himself  died  with  the  plain  "  Sir"  before  his  name, 
the  Bayard  of  India. 

The  castle  in  which  Bayard  was  born  is  only  about 
ten  minutes'  walk  from  Pondcharra.  From  it  you  have 
an  admirable  view  of  the  valley  of  Gresivaudan,  the  con- 
vent of  the  Grande-Chartreuse,  and  the  mountains  of 
Beauges.  Entering  a  dilapidated  gateway,  one  beholds 
two  ruinous  structures.    One  of  these,  which  was  a  chapel, 


INTR  on  UCTION.  xix 

is  now  a  stable.  The  other  serves  for  the  dwelling  of 
the  steward  of  the  property.  "  The  principal  tower 
had  three  stories,  of  which  the  first  only  remains.  They 
stUl  show  the  chamber  of  Bayard,  and  that  in  which 
Helene  of  Allemans  first  saw  the  light.  The  stables,  the 
cellar,  and  the  refectory  and  kitchen  are  well  preserved; 
all  the  rest  is  completely  destroyed.  The  Due  of  Berry, 
just  before  his  assassination,  had  ordered  one  of  his 
friends  to  buy  the  chateau,  intending  to  restore  it  and  to 
make  it  a  princely  residence,  but  the  poniard  of  Louvel 
put  an  end  to  that  dream." '^ 

But  if  kings  did  not  appreciate  the  good  knight,  we 
shall  see  in  this  history  that  his  enemies,  his  friends,  and 
his  companions  did,  and  it  is  worth  while  to  rescue  from 
oblivion  this  sad  song  of  his  companions. 

Liamentation  et  eomplaincte  par  maniere  de  chanson  de  la  mort  du 
bon  Bayard  f aide  par  les  avanturiers  au  retour  de  Lombardie. 

Aydez-moi  tous  a  plaindre, 

Pouvres  advanturiers, 
Sans  poinct  vous  vouloir  faindre, 

Ung  si  noble  pilier ! 
C'estoist  le  singulier 

Sur  lous  les  gensd'armes ; 
Car  dedans  ua  miller 

Une  tel  n'avoit  en  arnies. 

Le  jour  de  Sainct  Estroppe, 

Bayard,  noble  seigneur, 
Voyant  les  ennemis  en  troppe,. 

Il  monstra  sa  valeur. 
C'estoit  par  faveur 

De  la  faulce  canaille, 
Dont  luy  vint  ce  malheur 

Mauldicte  soit  la  bataille ! 


*  Itineraire  descriptif  et  historique  du  Dauphine. 


XX  INTR  OB  UCTION. 

Plourez,  Plourez,  gendarmes  ^ 

A  cheval  et  a  pied ; 
Car  jamais  d'homme  d'armes 

Ne  vous  en  veinst  pis. 
II  a  tenu  bon  pied 

Sans  faire  au  Roy  tort 
Dont  k  luy  fut  le  pis 

Car  gaigne  a  la  mort. 
Le  vaillant  chevalier 

II  pensoit  nuyct  et  jour, 
Comme  pourrait  bailler 

Au  genx  du  Roy  secours. 
Adonc  il  prit  le  cours 

Centre  ses  ennemys, 
Dont  ses  jours  en  sont  cours, 

Vous  voyez  mes  amys. 
Ha  pouYre  Dauphine, 

Tu  peulx  bien  dire  h61as ! 
Avant  qu'il  soit  fine 

Tu  en  seras  bien  las. 
Tu  as  perdu  ton  solas. 

Et  encore  de  rechief 
Tu  peulx  bien  dire  helas ! 

Il  te  coustera  cher. 

And  with  this  sad  echo  of  the  old  free-lance  compa- 
nions of  the  good  knight,  the  editor  and  translator  take 
leave  of  their  readers,  wishing  them  a  full  enjoyment 
and  noble  appreciation  of  these  joyous  and  pleasant 
feats  and  gestes  of  the  good  knight,  and  repeating  the 
farewell  words  of  the  Loyal  Servant  in  excuse  for  any 
shortcomings  :  "  But  as  for  what  I  have  said  herein,  I 
do  beg  all  readers  of  this  history  to  take  it  kindly  and 
in  goodwill,  for  I  have  done  the  best  that  I  could, 
though  not,  indeed,  all  that  was  due  to  the  praise  of  so 
perfect  and  virtuous  a  person  as  the  good  knight  with- 
out fear  and  without  reproach,  the  gentle  Lord  of 
Bayard,  whose  soul  may  God  in  His  grace  grant  to  rest 
with  Him  in  Paradise.     Amen." 


SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 


CHAPTER  L 

lAYARD,  whose  goodness  and  valour,  intre- 
pidity and  prudence,  coolness  and  presence  of 
mind,  patriotism  and  piety,  gained  him  one 
of  the  noblest  reputations  ever  acquired  by 
a  soldier,  and  the  all-envied  title,  "Le  chevalier  sans 
peur  et  sans  reproche,"  was  born  in  1476,  while  Louis 
XI  was  on  the  throne  of  France.  The  chateau  Bayard, 
in  Dauphiny,  was  his  birthplace,  and  when  Guillaume 
d'Avengon,  Archbishop  of  Embrun,  came  into  possession 
of  the  estate,  and  found  that  the  castle  wanted  repairs, 
he  gave  orders  that  the  room  which  Bayard  had  occupied 
should  be  kept  untouched,  out  of  respect  to  the  memory 
of  so  great  a  man. 

Historians  who  have  written  his  life  have  told  us 
little  of  the  earliest  years  of  the  boy  who  distinguished 
himself  so  much  as  a  man.  Doubtless  he  passed  them 
as  other  children  do,  in  receiving  instruction,  and  joining 
others  of  his  age  in  the  amusements  then  general. 

When  still  a  child,  hardly  thirteen,  his  father,  who 
felt  that  his  end  was  approaching,  sent  for  his  four 
children,  their  mother  being  present,  to  ask  them  what 
professions  they  chose.     The  eldest  declared  his  wLsh  to 


z  SPOTLESS  AND  FEARLESS. 

live  with  his  parents  as  long  as  they  lived,  and  to  enjoy 
his    inheritance    peaceably  afterwards.       Bayard,    the 
second,  spoke  after  his  brother,  and,  with  a  spirit  asto- 
nishing in  one  so  young,  said  that,  holding  so  glorious 
and    illustrious    a   name — a  name   unsullied   and    un- 
tarnished by  numerous  ancestors  who  had  borne  it,  and 
who  had  glorified  it  by  incomparable  feats  of  arms — he 
begged  leave  to  try  and  imitate  them.     That  was   his 
wish,  and  he  hoped,  by  the  help  of  God,  never  to  take 
one  sparkle  from  the  glory  of  those  of  his  house  whose 
high  deeds  he  had  often  heard  with  such  thrilling  plea- 
sure.    The  father  was  moved  to  tears  by  the  zeal  and 
earnestness  of  the  boy.     "  My  son,"  said  he,  "  you  are 
already  in  face  and  figure  like  your  grandfather,  who 
was  one  of  the  most  accomplished  gentlemen  of  his  time. 
I  am  rejoiced  at  your  resolution,  and  I  will  do  all  I  can 
to  forward  your  wishes,  by  placing  you  in  the  house  of 
some  prince  where  you  will  learn  all  noble  and  manly 
exercises  fitting  for  a  knight." 

Ay  mond  Terrail  lost  no  time,  but  the  next  day  sent  for  his 
brother-in-law,  the  Bishop  of  Grenoble,  to  consult  with 
him  as  to  what  should  be  done.  The  good  bishop  came 
with  many  more  knights  to  a  banquet  which  Aymond  had 
prepared,  and  at  which  the  young  Bayard  served  with  a 
grace  and  modesty  that  drewpraise  from  all  present.  After 
the  banquet,  the  old  man  told  them  how  he  bad  questioned 
his  sons,  and  of  the  answer  of  Pierre,  the  second,  dwell- 
ing upon  the  delight  he  felt  at  his  choice,  and  begging 
them  to  advise  him  what  house  of  prince  or  noble  to 
send  the  boy  to.  Each  gave  his  word  of  advice.  One 
said,  make  him  page  to  the  king;  another,  in  the  house 
of  Bourbon ;  but  the  good  bishop  said,  "  You  know  well 
how  friendly  the  Duke  of  Savoy  is  to  our  house ;  he  is 
now  at  Chambery ;  to-morrow  we  will  set  out,  and  I  will 


LIFE   OF  BAYARD.  3 

present  my  nephew  to  him  for  a  page;  be  at  no  expense, 
for  I  myself  will  equip  and  mount  him." 

All  applauded;  and  the  father,  leading  tlie  young 
Bayard  to  the  bishop,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  said,  "I 
give  him  to  you,  and  pray  God  that  wherever  you  place 
him  he  may  do  you  honour." 

Then  the  bishop  sent  to  Grenoble  for  dresses  for  the 
child,  and  all  was  ready  by  the  next  day,  so  that  Bayard, 
well  equipped  and  mounted,  presented  himself  before 
the  company  with  as  good  a  grace  as  if  he  had  been  in 
the  presence  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  The  horse,  accus- 
tomed to  a  heavy  weight  and  feeling  the  spurs,  gave 
two  or  three  alarming  bounds,  but  the  young  chevalier 
kept  a  firm  seat  and  managed  his  horse  with  the  skill  of 
a  man  of  thirty.  All  were  astonished  at  the  courage  of 
a  boy  just  free  from  the  schoolroom,  and  mounted  for 
the  first  time.  His  father  asked  him  if  he  felt  no  fear. 
Bayard,  with  perfect  coolness,  answered,  that  he  hoped 
by  God's  help  to  manage  his  horse  among  the  enemies 
of  the  prince  he  was  going  to  serve. 

His  father  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  him,  and  his 
mother,  a  pious,  good  woman,  mixed  her  tears  and  her 
kisses  with  wholesome  advice,  which  sunk  deeply  into 
the  heart  of  the  boy,  and  had  who  can  tell  what  effect 
upon  the  future  life  of  her  darling.  She  begged  him, 
above  all,  to  serve  God  first,  to  pray  to  him  night  and 
morning,  to  be  kind  and  charitable  to  all,  to  beware  of 
flatterers  and  never  become  one  himself,  to  avoid  envy, 
hatred,  and  lying,  as  vices  unworthy  of  a  Christian,  and 
to  comfort  widows  and  orphans.  Bayard  replied  lovingly 
and  modestly ;  and,  provided  with  a  purse  and  a  little 
trunk  containing  his  linen,  he  and  his  uncle  took  their 
way  to  Chambery,  where  they  arrived  the  same  day. 
Bayard  happier  than  he  had  ever  been  in  his  life  before. 


4  SPOTLESS  AND  FEARLESS. 

The  next  day  the  prelate  waited  upon  the  duke,^  who 
was  rejoiced  at  his  visit,  esteeming  him  one  of  the  most 
virtuous  and  pious  prelates  of  his  time.  The  duke  kept 
a  brilliant  court,  and  had  always  been  a  faithful  ally  of 
France.  He  received  the  uncle  and  nephew  with  all 
signs  of  friendship,  and  pressed  them  to  remain  and  dine 
with  him.  They  did  so,  and  Bayard  waited  upon  his 
uncle  at  table  with  so  much  grace  that  the  duke  was 
impressed  with  his  manners,  and  asked  the  bishop  who 
the  child  was. 

"  Sir,"  said  the  old  man,  "  he  is  my  nephew,  whom 
I  have  brought  to  present  to  you,  if  his  services  will  be 
of  use  to  you." 

"  I  accept  him  at  once,"  replied  the  duke ;  "  I  should 
indeed  be  difficult  to  please  if  I  refused  such  a  present." 
The  young  knight  delighted  at  this,  and,  having  been 
previously  instructed  by  his  uncle  what  to  do,  did  not 
wait  for  dinner,  but  immediately  went  out  and  dressed 
himself  to  appear  advantageously  before  the  duke.  His 
horse  was  beautifully  caparisoned,  and  as  he  approached 
the  palace,  where  the  duke  was  seated  at  a  window,  he 
managed  the  mettlesome  steed  as  well  as  if  he  had 
passed  all  his  life  on  horseback. 

"  My  lord  bishop,"  said  the  duke,  "  is  that  your 
nephew  yonder,  who  rides  so  charmingly  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  lord,"  replied  the  bishop,  "  it  is  my  nephew  ; 
he  comes  of  a  good  family,  and  'one  which  has  produced 
brave  gentlemen  and  valiant  knights.  His  father,  over- 
come with  old  age  and  covered  with  wounds,  has  not 
been  able  to  bring  his  son  himself,  so  he  has  commissioned 
me  to  do  it  for  him." 

^  This  v/as  Charles  I,  sen  of  Amedee  IX.  and  Yolande 
of  France,  daughter  of  Charles  VII.  He  had  succeeded  his 
brother,  Philibert  I. 


LIFE  OF  BAYARD.  5 

"  I  am  only  too  happy  to  receive  such  a  present,"  said 
the  duke,  "  and  if  he  walk  in  the  steps  of  his  ancestors 
I  shall  have  abundant  reason  to  thank  you  for  your 
gift." 

So  Bayard  was  installed  a  member  of  the  duke's 
household,  where  he  applied  himself  so  heartily  to  all 
knightly  exercises  that  he  carried  away  the  palm  from 
all  his  comrades  ;  he  surpassed  them  in  the  dance,  on 
the  lute,  in  passages  of  arms,  and,  more  especially,  in 
horse  exercise.  He  was  so  graceful,  and  manly,  and 
obliging  to  all,  that  the  duke  and  duchess  looked  upon 
him  as  their  own  son. 

Six  months  after,  the  Duke  of  Savoy  set  out  for 
Lyons,  where  Charles  VIII.  had  been  for  a  year  with 
his  court,  and  amused  himself  amongst  other  things  with 
tourneys,  feasts,  and  balls  given  to  the  ladies  of  the 
town,  and  even  did  them  the  honour  to  admit  them  to 
his  table.  The  king,  hearing  of  the  duke's  arrival,  sent 
the  Count  de  Ligny-  with  a  number  of  gentlemen  and 
a  detachment  of  archers  to  meet  him.  They  met  them 
at  about  two  leagues  from  Lyons.  The  prince  welcomed 
heartily  the  Count  de  Ligny  and  the  Lord  d'A-vesnes,^ 
and  all  the  other  lords  and  gentlemen,  whence  they  re- 
turned together  talking  merrily  on  the  way.  The  count 
perceived  the  young  Bayard  in  the  procession,  and  was 
so  charmed  with  his  horsemanship  that  he  could  not  help 


2  Louis  of  Luxembourg,  son  of  Louis  Count  of  Saint -Pol, 
Constable  of  France,  who  was  beheaded  at  Paris,  the  19th  of 
December,  1475,  for  the  crime  of  felony. 

^  Gabriel  d'Albret,  Lord  of  Avesnes,  brother  of  John  d'Albret, 
King  of  Xavarre.  John  was  the  father  of  Jane  d'Albret, 
married  to  Antoiue  de  Bourbon  Vendome,  by  whom  she  became 
the  mother  of  Henrv  IV.  iu  1553. 


6  SPOTLESS  AND  FEARLESS. 

complimenting  the  duke  upon  it.  The  duke  told  him 
that  he  was  a  nephew  of  the  Bishop  of  Grenoble,  and 
still  very  young.  He  called  to  the  boy  and  ordered 
him  to  gallop,  crying  out,  "  Spur,  Bayard,  spur !  "  Asking 
no  questions,  young  Bayard  did  as  he  was  ordered,  and 
at  the  end  of  the  run  he  brought  the  horse  back  curvet- 
ing and  bounding,  but  perfectly  manageable.  The  count 
again  praised  the  youth,  and  said  how  glad  the  king 
would  be  to  have  him  in  his  service.  The  next  day,  at 
the  table  the  conversation  turned  upon  the  chase  and 
horses,  from  those  the  transition  was  easy  to  tourna- 
ments, war,  and  gallantry.  The  Count  de  Ligny  told  the 
king  of  the  page  of  fourteen  who  was  so  brave  a  horse- 
man, and  said  if  his  Majesty  wished  to  see  him  he  could 
do  so  as  he  went  to  vespers  at  the  abbey  of  Ainay. 
Bayard  was  soon  informed  of  this,  when  he  hastened  to 
the  Duke  of  Savoy's  groom  and  begged  him  to  make 
his  horse  look  better  than  ever  before.  The  groom,  who 
loved  the  boy,  promised.  Bayard  went  immediately  to 
dress  himself,  so  that  he  might  appear  at  his  best,  and 
was  ready  when  his  friend  the  groom  brought  his  horse. 
This  faithful  servitor,  who  foresaw  that  Bayard  was 
about  to  change  masters,  said  to  him,  "  My  dear  Bayard, 
whatever  satisfaction  I  may  feel  at  your  advancement,  I 
can  but  be  grieved  to  lose  you ;  I  understand  that  you 
are  going  to  pass  into  the  service  of  the  King  of  France ; 
you  cannot  wish  for  anything  more  advantageous,  nor 
for  a  better  occasion  to  make  a  name  and  a  fortune." 

The  hour  for  parting  having  arrived,  they  mounted 
on  horseback.  Bayard's  horse  being  groomed  fit  for  the 
king  himself.  They  reached  the  meadows  of  Ainay, 
where  the  king  and  his  suite  arrived  by  water,  a  short 
time  after,  and  the  king  had  scarcely  landed  when 
he  perceived  the  groom  and  the  knight  on  horseback. 


LIFE  OF  BAYARD.  7 

"Page,  my  friend,"  cried  he,  "give  the  spur!"  The  other 
pages  repeated,  "  Spur,  spur!  "  Which  he  did  with  as 
much  skill  and  grace  as  if  he  had  had  thirty  years'  expe- 
rience. And  from  the  word  piquez.,  spur,  Bayard  got 
his  surname  of  Piquet,  by  which  he  was  known  for  a 
long  time  after.  The  king  was  charmed  with  the 
young  page,  as  the  duke  had  been  before  him,  and  com- 
mitted him  to  the  care  of  the  Count  de  Ligny,  who  was 
delighted  with  the  acquisition.  He  placed  him  among 
his  pages,  and  at  the  end  of  three  years,  when  Bayard 
was  seventeen,  the  count  made  him  a  man-at-arms  in 
his  company,  and  gentleman  of  his  house,  with  three 
hundred  livres  a  year. 

The  Duke  of  Savoy  remained  at  Lyons  several  days ; 
and  during  his  stay  a  nobleman  named  Claude  de  Vau- 
dray,  of  the  province  of  Burgundy,  asked  the  king's 
permission  to  give  a  tournament  for  the  young  nobility. 
This  tourney  was  to  consist  of  horse-racing,  and  of  com- 
bats on  foot  and  on  horseback,  with  lances  and  battle- 
axes.  The  king,  who  loved  all  these  symbols  of  war, 
easily  granted  permission,  and  the  Lord  of  Vaudray* 
attached  his  coat-of-arms  to  a  post,  so  that  any  gentle- 
man who  wished  to  enter  into  the  lists  could  touch  it 
and  afterwards  give  his  name  to  the  king-at-arms  of  the 
tourney.  Bayard,  who  had  been  a  man-at-arms  for 
some  days,  passed  with  one  of  his  comrades  before  the 
post,  and  remained  silent  before  it,  tempted  to  add  his 
name  to  the  list.   "Alas !  "  said  he,  "  if  I  only  knew  how 


*  Marechal  de  Gie.  His  arms  were  per  pale,  gules,  and  ar- 
gent. This  house,  a  very  illustrious  one  in  the  county  of 
Burgundy,  had  for  its  device,  "  J'ai  valu,  vaux,  et  vaudrai," — 
1  have  been  worth,  I  am  -n-orth,  I  shall  be  worth ;  in  allusion 
to  three  territories  belonging  to  it,  Vaux,  Valu,  and  Vaudray. 


8  SPOTLESS  AND  FEARLESS. 

to  obtain  what  is  necessary  to  fit  me  for  the  combat,  I 
would  willingly  touch  these  escutcheons." 

His  comrade,  named  Bellabre,^  a  gentleman  like  him- 
self belonging  to  the  household  of  the  Count  de  Ligny, 
surprised  at  his  sudden  fit  of  musing,  asked  him  the 
cause, 

"Ah,  my  friend,"  replied  Bayard,  "  my  hand  is  long- 
ing to  touch  that  shield,  but  when  I  have  done  so,  who 
is  to  provide  me  with  horses  and  necessary  accoutre- 
ments?" 

Bellabre,  a  little  older  and  more  worldly-wise  than  he, 
said  to  him,  "  Why  trouble  yourself  about  that,  my 
friend ;  haven't  you  an  uncle  in  the  neighbourhood,  the 
Abbot  of  Ainay  ?  ^  If  you  like,  we  will  go  together  and 
pay  him  a  visit,  and  if  he  refuse  to  give  you  money, 
wh}',  I'll  seize  crosier  and  mitre,  and  anything  else  I  can 
lay  my  hands  upon." 

"  No,  no,  my  friend,"  said  Bayard,  "  let  us  respect 
the  church  and  her  ministers." 

"  I  hope,"  replied  Bellabre,  "  that  we  shall  not  have 
to  resort  to  violence  ;  when  your  uncle  knows  what  you 
require,  and  that  the  king  is  your  friend,  he  will  be 
generous  enough,  depend  upon  it." 

Bayard,  encouraged  by  his  friend,  hesitated  no 
longer,  but  immediately  advanced  and  touched  the 
escutcheons. 

The   king-at-arms,  Mountjoy,  who  was  placed  there 

*  Pierre  de  Pocquieres,  Lord  of  Bellabre,  of  Limousin.  He 
was  all  his  life  Bayard's  friend,  and  followed  him  in  most  of 
his  campaigns. 

^  The  Abbot  of  Ainay  was  not  Bayard's  uncle ;  he  was  three 
or  four  degrees  removed.  His  name  was  Theodore  Terrail.  He 
held  his  abbey  forty-eight  years,  and  died  there  in  1505.  His 
tomb  may  still  be  seen  in  the  centre  of  the  nave. 


LIFE  OF  BAYARD.  9 

to  receive  the  names  of  the  combatants,  was  astonished 
at  the  boldness  of  the  young  man,  and  said  to  him, 
"  Why,  Piquet,  you  are  only  a  child  yet,  and  do  you 
mean  to  put  yourself  against  the  Lord  of  Yaudray,  who 
is  one  of  the  boldest  knights  in  Christendom?" 

"Mountjoy,"  replied  Bayard,  "if  I  have  touched 
tliat  shield,  believe  me  it  is  neither  pride  nor  vain- 
glory that  has  prompted  me.  I  wish  to  learn  the 
glorious  profession  of  arms  from  those  who  are  capable 
of  giving  me  lessons,  and,  God  helping  me,  I  hope  to 
acquit  myself  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  ladies." 

The  king-at-arms  smiled  ;  he  could  not  help  admiring 
the  resolution  and  wisdom  of  the  youngster  of  seven- 
teen. Soon  all  the  town  knew  that  Bayard  was  to  take 
part  in  the  approaching  tourney.  The  report  reached  the 
ears  of  the  Count  de  Ligny,  who  was  overjoyed,  and  went 
to  tell  the  good  news  to  the  king.  The  king  was  equally 
charmed,  and  said  to  the  count,  "  My  cousin,  I  have 
presented  you  with  a  pupil  who  will  gain  you  honour." 

"  I  hope,  sire,"  replied  the  count,  "  that  he  will  come 
well  out  of  this  affair  ;  but  he  is  very  young  to  measure 
himself  against  this  Lord  of  Yaudray." 

But  the  most  difficult  part  of  the  preparations  was 
still  to  be  gone  through  ;  money  was  necessary  to  a 
splendid  appearance.  "  I  don't  know,"  said  Bayard  to 
Bellabre,  "how  to  approach  the  Abbot  of  Ainay  if  you 
do  not  introduce  the  subject.  I  am  sure  that  if  my 
uncle  the  Bishop  of  Grenoble  were  at  home  he  would 
give  me  anything  I  wanted,  but  unfortunately  he  is  at 
the  Abbey  of  Saint  Saturnin,  at  Toulouse ;  even  if  I 
wrote  to  him  there  is  no  time  to  wait  for  an  answer." 

"  Be  easy,"  replied  Bellabre,  "  we  will  visit  the  abbot 
to-morrow,  and  I  promise  you  to  get  the  money  from 
him." 


10  SPOTLESS  AND  FEARLESS. 

The  next  day  the  two  friends  crossed  the  Saone  to 
Ainay.  They  had  hardly  disembarked  when  the  first 
man  they  saw  was  the  abbot  himself,  reading,  in  a  meadow. 
They  approached  him  respectfully  ;  but  the  abbot,  who 
had  already  heard  what  had  passed,  and  who  guessed 
what  this  visit  meant,  did  not  receive  them  very  cor- 
dially, and  asked  Bayard  how  he  came  to  be  so  absurd 
as  to  touch  the  shield  of  M.  Claude  of  Vaudray. 

"Three  days  ago,"  said  the  old  man,  "you  were  a 
page,  you  are  hardly  eighteen  years  old ;  you  deserve  a 
good  whipping  for  showing  so  much  vanity." 

"  My  dear  uncle,"  modestly  replied  the  knight,  "  I 
protest  that  vanity  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
this.  I  have  no  other  design  than  to  show  myself  worthy 
of  the  honour  of  belonging  to  you  and  a  house  in  which 
valour  has  always  been  hereditary ;  so  I  beg  you,  sir,  to 
help  me  with  money.  You  know  that  I  have  neither 
relation  nor  friend  near  but  yourself  to  whom  I  can 
apply." 

"  My  faith,"  replied  the  abbot,  severely  enough,  "you 
must  beg  elsewhere;  the  wealth  of  the  church  has  been 
given  for  prayers  to  God,  and  not  to  supply  money  for 
tourneys." 

Then  Bellabre  spoke.  "  Sir,  without  the  merit  and 
valour  of  your  ancestors  you  would  not  be  Abbot  of 
Ainay.  You  are  under  an  obligation  to  them  for  the 
glory  they  have  acquired,  and  to  their  name  which  you 
bear.  You  owe  them  gratitude,  and  how  can  you  pay 
the  debt  better  than  by  doing  good  to  your  nephew  ? 
Up  to  this  time  he  has  done  you  credit;  he  is  a  favourite 
of  the  king  and  of  the  count  our  master,  who  has  already 
made  him  a  man-at-arms  in  his  company.  The  king, 
even,  knows  he  is  to  fight ;  and  you  ought  to  be 
charmed  with  his  spirit  of  emulation,  and  do  all  in  your 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  il 

power  to  contribute  to  his  advancement.  Perhaps  it  will 
cost  you  two  hundred  crowns  to  equip  him,  and  in 
return  he  will  gain  you  honour  to  the  amount  of  ten 
thousand." 

The  abbot  replied,  and  Bellabre  once  more  answered 
him  so  well  that  the  uncle  finally  consented  to  assist 
his  nephew.  He  accompanied  the  young  men  to  his 
house,  and,  taking  a  purse  from  a  cabinet,  he  took  a 
hundred  crowns,  and  gave  them  to  Bellabre,  saying, 
"  Young  gentleman,  take  care  of  this  money,  and  buy 
two  horses  for  this  brave  soldier  ;  his  beard  is  still  too 
young  for  me  to  trust  him  with  it.  I  will  send  word  to 
Laurencin  to  furnish  him  with  all  necessary  garments." 

"  I  thank  you  for  him,"  said  Bellabre,  "  and  for  my 
own  part,  reckon  on  my  gratitude  ;  we  will  not  forget 
to  talk  about  your  kindness." 

The  abbot  then  wrote  to  the  merchant  to  furnish  the 
young  man  with  the  stuffs  necessary  for  him  to  appear 
honourably  at  the  tourney.  The  two  friends,  ai-med 
with  the  letter,  immediately  went  to  the  merchant  to 
whom  it  was  addressed,  and  each  one  bought  three 
similar  suits,  for  Bayard  wished  his  friend  to  appear 
there  with  his  money,  for  they  were  such  good  friends 
that  one  had  nothing  that  he  did  not  share  with  the 
other.  Only  horses  were  wanting  now.  An  occasion 
soon  presented  itself.  A  Piedmontese  gentleman,  who 
had  only  been  at  Lyons  a  few  days,  had  fallen  and 
broken  his  leg.  He  had  two' horses,  which  he  deter- 
mined to  sell  instead  of  feeding  them  and  getting  no 
work  in  return.  Bellabre,  who  heard  of  this  circum- 
stance, spoke  of  it  to  his  friend  and  took  him  to  the 
sick  gentleman's  apartments,  with  whom  the  bargain  was 
easily  concluded.  They  tried  the  horses  first,  after 
which  the  price  was  fixed  at  a  hundred  and  ten  crowns 


12       SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

for  the  two.  The  money  was  paid,  and  two  crowns  given 
to  the  grooms  who  led  the  animals  to  the  stables  of  their 
new  masters. 

There  were  now  only  three  days  before  the  tourna- 
ment, which  Bayard  and  his  friend  employed  in  be- 
coming acquainted  with  the  tempers  of  their  new  steeds. 

The  tournament  commenced  on  Monday,  the  20th 
July,  1494.  The  Lord  of  Vaudray  distinguished  him- 
self and  did  marvels;  also  Jacques  Galyot  de  Genouillac, 
Lord  of  Aster,  Seneschal  of  Armagnac,  who  was  afterwards 
Grand  Equerry  of  France,  and  Grand  Master  of  the  Artil- 
lery;  Germain  de  Bonneval,  Louis  de  Hedouville,  Lord  of 
Sandricourt;  the  Lord  of  Chatillon,  of  the  house  of  Co- 
ligny ;  the  Lord  of  Bourdillon,  and  a  number  of  others  ; 
most  of  them  honoured  with  the  king's  friendship.  It  had 
been  ordered  that  each  one,  after  fighting,  should  go  round 
the  lists  with  his  face  uncovered,  that  the  spectators 
might  judge  whether  he  had  fought  well  or  ill. 

The  knight  Bayard,  then  in  his  eighteenth  year,  still 
weak  and  delicate  in  appearance,  took  his  place  in  the 
lists  and  struck  his  first  blow,  which  was  considered  too 
bold  for  one  so  young.  Whether  for  this  reason  the 
Lord  of  Vaudray  favoured  him,  or  whether  his  skill  and 
strength  conquered,  certain  it  is  that  the  majority  of 
votes  were  for  him,  and  the  ladies  especially,  in  their 
patois,  praised  him  loudly,  and  said  that  he  had  done 
better  than  all  the  others. 

The  king  was  charmed  as  well  as  his  people,  and  said 
to  the  count  at  supper,  "By  the  faith  of  my  body,  cousin 
de  Ligny,  Piquet  has  given  us  to-day  a  foretaste  of  what 
he  will  be  as  a  man.  He  is  the  best  present  I  ever  made 
you  in  my  life." 

"  Sire,"  replied  the  count,  "  the  honour  will  redound 
to  your  Majesty,  and  to  that  thought  he  owes  the  glory 
that  his  achievements  have  thrown  over  him." 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  13 

About  a  year  after  the  tournament  the  Count  tie  Ligny 
took  Bayard  aside,  told  him  that,  in  addition  to  his  place 
of  page-in-waiting,  he  had  put  him  in  his  company  of 
artillery.  He  then  sent  the  overjoyed  young  man  away 
to  join  his  comrades,  saying,  "  You  will  find  among  them 
some  of  the  most  valiant  men  in  France,  daily  practising 
warlike  exercises,  and  you  cannot  do  better  than  remain 
with  them  till  war  demands  your  services." 

Bayard  was  overjoyed ;  he  thanked  the  count  with 
his  whole  heart,  for,  as  he  said,  "  the  greatest  favour 
he  had  ever  received."  He  begged  permission  to  start 
the  next  day,  and,  having  obtained  it,  went  with  his 
master  to  take  leave  of  the  king.  The  king  was  just 
leaving  table. 

"  Sire,"  said  the  count,  "  your  Piquet  has  come  to  bid 
your  Majesty  farewell  before  joining  his  companions  in 
Picardy." 

Bayard  fell  on  one  knee  before  the  king  with  a  modest 
yet  self-possessed  air.  The  prince  looked  at  him  gra- 
ciously and  said,  "  Piquet,  my  friend,  may  God  continue 
in  you  what  I  have  seen  begun ;  may  you  grow  up  a 
brave  man.  You  are  going  into  a  country  where  beau- 
tiful ladies  abound,  do  all  you  can  to  gain  their  good 
graces  \  and  now,  my  friend,  good-bye  ! " 

Bayard  thanked  the  king  with  respect,  and  then  took 
an  affectionate  leave  of  the  princes  and  of  his  comrades. 
The  king,  calling  one  of  the  valets-de-chambre,  ordered 
him  to  give  the  knight  three  hundred  crowns,  and  added 
to  the  present  one  of  his  finest  horses.  Bayard,  out  of 
gratitude,  gave  thirty  crowns  to  the  valet-de-chambre, 
and  ten  to  the  groom  who  brought  the  horse.  This  first 
act  of  generosity  increased  the  esteem  of  those  who 
heard  of  it.  As  Bayard  was  to  set  off  eaily  the  next 
morning  the  count  bade  him  adieu  overnight  and  coun- 
selled him  with  the  affection  of  a  father,  recommending 


14       SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

him  to  keep  in  the  paths  of  religion,  honour,  and  virtue. 
Bayard  kissed  his  hand,  and  moistened  it  with  his  tears, 
and  then  took  his  final  leave,  followed  by  the  gentlemen 
and  officers  of  the  household,  who  embraced  him  ten- 
derly and  assured  him  of  their  sorrow  at  his  departure. 
At  the  same  moment  the  count's  tailor  brought  him  two 
rich  suits  of  clothes,  by  his  master's  orders,  and  a  groom 
arrived  with  the  finest  horse  from  the  count's  stables 
completely  harnessed.  The  knight,  surprised  at  so  many 
presents  added  to  those  he  had  already  received,  gave 
the  tailor  twenty  crowns,  and  the  groom  ten,  begging 
them  to  thank  their  master  for  him,  as  he  did  not  feel 
equal  to  the  task. 

At  daybreak  he  sent  oflf  his  six  best  horses,  after  them 
his  carriages,  and  he  himself  followed  with  his  remaining 
horses.  Bellabre,  his  friend  and  companion,  could  not 
accompany  him  to  his  destination  as  he  was  awaiting  the 
arrival  of  two  horses  from  Spain ;  but  he  went  several 
miles  with  him,  and  promised  to  rejoin  him  soon. 

Bayard  journeyed  by  easy  stages  to  keep  his  horses 
fresh ;  and  when  he  was  about  six  miles  from  Aire  in 
Picardy,  he  sent  an  attendant  forward  to  prepare  his 
lodging.  As  soon  as  his  comrades  heard  of  his  approach, 
they  came  out  to  meet  him  on  horseback  to  the  number 
of  a  hundred  and  twenty,  thinking  they  could  not  show 
too  much  honour  to  a  man  so  well  thought  of  by  their 
king  and  their  captain.  They  met  at  about  a  mile  and 
a  half  from  the  town,  and  having  greeted  each  other 
with  expressions  of  esteem,  they  conducted  him  in 
triumph  to  their  quarters.  Many  ladies  were  at  their 
windows,  for  they  had  heard  so  much  of  the  virtues,  the 
wisdom,  and  the  high-mindedness  of  Bayard,  that  they 
were  impatient  to  see  him. 

Part  of  the  company  remained  and  took  supper  with 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  15 

the  new  comer,  and  his  success  at  the  tournament  was 
the  principal  subject  of  conversation  at  the  meal. 

"  Friends  and  companions,"  said  Bayard,  with  his  usual 
modesty,  "  I  have  not  had  time  to  deserve  the  praises 
that  you  are  lavishing  upon  me  ;  but,  by  God's  help,  and 
following  in  your  steps,  I  hope  one  day  to  be  worth  the 
name  of  soldier." 

One  of  the  company  named  Tardieu,  a  merry  good- 
humoured  fellow,  and  a  thorough  lover  of  pleasure,  ad- 
dressed himself  in  his  jovial  manner  to  Bayard  :  "  Com- 
rade," said  he,  "  I  hope  you  haven't  come  to  the  garrison 
without  a  well-filled  purse,  because  the  ladies  in  these 
parts  are  very  fond  of  tournaments,  and  they  have  not 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  one  for  a  long  time.  Give 
them  one  eight  or  ten  days  hence." 

"  If  you  will  undertake  to  obtain  the  commander's  per- 
mission, and  send  me  the  herald,"  said  Bayard,  "  it  shall 
be  as  you  wish,  my  friend;  it  will  give  me  even  more 
pleasure  than  you." 

Tardieu  felt  certain  that  the  captain,  Louis  d'Ars,' 
would  not  withhold  his  consent.  However,  it  was  time 
for  the  party  to  separate,  and  they  did  so,  promising  to 
meet  again  early  the  next  day, 

Tardieu  was  the  first  to  arrive;  he  entered  saying, 
"  Comrade,  here  is  your  herald,  now  you  can  settle 
everything." 

Although  the  knight,  fatigued  with  a  long  march,  had 
required  rest,  he  sat  up  the  greater  part  of  the  night 
writing  the  proclamation,  which  was  ready  when  Tardieu 
entered.  It  was  to  this  import,  that — "  Pierre  Bayard,  a 
gentleman  of  Dauphiny,  in  the  service  of  the  high  and 


^  One  of  the  most  illustrious  captains  of  his  time.     He  was  a 
native  of  Dauphiny,  a  relation  and  neighbour  of  Bayard. 


1 6  SPOTLESS    AXD    FEARLESS. 

mighty  lord,  Count  de  Ligny,  lately  initiated  into  the 
mysteries  of  war,  publishes  a  tournament  for  the  20th  of 
July,  outside  and  close  to  the  walls  of  the  town  of  Aire, 
to  all  comers,  to  fight  with  lances  without  lists,  and  on 
horseback ;  the  prize  for  the  conqueror  to  be  a  gold 
bracelet  enamelled  with  his  arms,  of  the  weight  of  thirty 
crowns — that  the  next  day  will  be  fought  a  combat  with 
lances  on  foot,  and  after  the  lances  are  broken  an  assault 
with  battle-axes,  the  prize  for  which  will  be  a  diamond 
of  the  value  of  forty  crowns."  Tardieu  highly  approved 
of  the  proclamation,  and  vowed  that  Launcelot,  Tristram, 
and  Gawain  were  not  to  be  compared  to  Bayard.  They 
gave  it  to  the  herald,  and  bade  him  proclaim  it  in  that 
town,  and  in  all  the  garrisons  in  the  province.  For  in 
those  days  there  were  a  great  many  companies  of  brave 
knights,  who  all  heard  of  the  approaching  tournament. 
All  those  who  wished  to  take  part  in  it  hastened  to  Aire ; 
and,  notwithstanding  the  shortness  of  the  notice,  they 
arrived  to  the  number  o£  forty  or  fifty. 

In  the  interval  the  valiant  captain  Louis  d'Ars  arrived, 
glad  to  be  there  in  time  for  the  tournament.  As  soon 
as  Bayard  knew  he  had  come,  he  went  to  pay  his  respects 
to  him,  and  was  received  in  the  most  flattering  manner. 
To  heighten  his  joy  his  good  friend  Bellabre  arrived  the 
day  after  his  commander,  and  had  a  flattering  reception 
from  every  one.  Then  there  were  nothing  but  fetes  and 
balls,  where  Bayard  showed  so  much  grace,  and  prudence, 
and  generosity,  that  the  ladies  of  the  town,  and  those  of 
the  province,  could  do  nothing  but  praise  him ;  they 
unanimously  gave  him  the  preference,  curiously  enough, 
without  making  him  vain,  or  his  companions  jealous. 

At  last  the  day  arrived,  Louis  d'Ars,  and  the  Lord  of 
St.  Quentin,  captain  of  the  Scotch  guards,  were  appointed 
umpires.     The   number   of  combatants    was    forty-six. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  17 

whom  the  judges  divided  into  two  parties  of  twenty - 
three  against  twenty-three.  This  done,  and  the  com- 
batants being  ready  to  enter  the  lists,  the  herald  sounded 
his  trumpet  and  published  distinctly  the  order  of  the 
tournament.  Then  the  knight  appeared  first  on  the 
scene,  and  Aymond  de  Salvaing,  lord  of  Boisseau,^  his 
cousin,  was  the  first  opponent  who  presented  himself; 
this  man  was  surnamed  "the  Tartar,"  as  Bayard  was  called 
"  Piquet,"  according  to  the  custom  of  the  times.  They 
ran  one  against  another  so  furiously  that  Boisseau  broke 
his  lance  short  in  two,  and  Bayard  awaited  him  on 
guard  and  shivered  his  lance  in  pieces.  Immediately 
two  trumpets  sounded  to  announce  this  brave  assault. 
Bayard  finally  conc[uered.  After  them  came  Bellabre, 
and  a  Scotch  captain  named  David  of  Fougas.  The 
Tartar,  the  captain  David,  the  Bastard  of  Chimay,  Tar- 
dieu,^  Bayard,  and  his  friend  Bellabre  were  amongst  the 
most  successful  combatants. 

At  the  end  of  the  day  Bayard,  who  had  prepared  a 
magnificent  supper,  invited  those  who  had  taken  part  in 
the  tournament,  and  a  number  of  ladies.  The  repast 
was  followed  by  dances  and  other  amusements  until  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  everyone  retired.  The 
next  day,  according  to  the  order  of  the  tournament,  they 
began  again  ;  and  after  attending  mass,  as  it  was  Sunday, 
they  dined  with  the  lord  of  St.  Quentin.  The  meal  was 
not  of  long  duration,  for  as  the  clocks  struck  two  the 


^  Avmond  de  Salvaing  was  the  grandson  of  Catherine  Serrail, 
the  aunt  of  Bayard. 

^  John  of  Tardieu,  a  gentleman  of  Rouergue.  He  ^vas  a  man- 
at-arms  in  the  comjjany  of  the  Count  of  Ligny  before  Bayard, 
in  connection  with  Avhom  he.  -will  be  met  with  several  times  in 
this  history. 

c 


1 8  SPOTLESS    AXD    FEARLESS. 

trumpet  called  the  combatants  to  the  barrier.  The 
umpires,  the  lords,  and  ladies  being  placed,  Bayard  en- 
tered first  as  on  the  previous  day ;  his  adversary  was 
Harmotin  de  Saker,  a  gentleman  of  Hainault ;  Bayard 
soon  forced  him  on  his  knees,  and  then  the  judges  called 
out,  "  enough,  enough  ! " 

After  them  Bellabre  entered  the  lists  against  Arnaul- 
ton  de  Pierreforade,  Tardieu  fought  against  David  of 
Fougas,  and  the  whole  company  declared  that  they  had 
never  seen  so  many  skilful  brave  men  assembled  at  one 
tournament.  After  the  supper,  to  which  they  repaired 
at  the  close  of  the  tournament,  the  question  was  to  be 
decided  as  to  who  should  receive  the  prizes.  The  judges 
took  the  opinions  of  the  company — first  the  ladies  were 
appealed  to,  and  begged  to  say  frankly  and  without  par- 
tiality who  they  thought  had  distinguished  himself  the 
most.  All  voices,  gentlemen's  and  ladies',  were  raised 
in  favour  of  Bayard  ;  and  St.  Quentin,  after  the  trumpet 
had  sounded  for  silence,  handed  the  jewels  to  the  young 
knight  to  give  them  to  whomsoever  he  thought  most  de- 
serving after  himself.  Amidst  the  praises  of  the  com- 
pany he  awarded  one  to  his  friend  Bellabre,  and  the 
other  to  the  Scotch  captain,  David  of  Fougas. 

During  the  two  years  that  elapsed  from  Bayard's 
arrival  in  Picardy,  till  the  departure  of  the  king  for  the 
kingdom  of  Naples,  he  frequently  gave  tournaments,  in 
the  greater  number  of  which  he  came  off  victorious. 
He  gained  universal  esteem  and  friendship,  and  the 
ladies  were  never  tired  of  praising  his  prudence  and 
numerous  virtues. 


CHArTEPv  11. 

iX  1494,  Charles  YIIL  determined  to  claim, 
by  force  of  arms,  the  rights  he  had  upon  the 
kingdom  of  Xaples.  He  entered  Italy  at 
the  head  of  a  large  army,  traversed  the 
country  without  interruption,  and  on  the  thirty-first  of 
December,  with  the  whole  of  his  troops,  entered  Rome 
by  torchlight,  and  with  the  lance  in  rest.  He  there  did 
several  acts  of  sovereignty;  appointed  some  criminals  to 
be  executed  and  pardoned  others,  while  Pope  Alexander 
VI,  famous  for  his  crimes,  not  being  able  to  oppose  the 
king,  retired  to  the  Castle  of  Saint  Angelo.  The  king 
forced  him  from  his  retreat  and  compelled  him  to  crown 
him  Emperor  of  Constantinople  and  King  of  Naples  ; 
afterwards  he  set  out  to  make  the  kingdom  submit, 
leaving  for  viceroy  Gilbert,  Count  of  Montpensier,  a 
prince  of  the  blood  royal. 

The  Count  of  Ligny,  who  followed  the  king  in  this 
expedition,  took  Bayard  with  him,  not  only  because  he 
liked  him,  but  because  he  wished  to  give  him  an  oppor- 
tunity to  distinguish  himself 

The  king,  after  a  glorious  campaign,  left  a  large 
part  of  his  army  to  guard  his  newly-acquired  kingdom, 
and  went  back  to  France  with  less  than  10,000  men. 


20  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

On  his  road,  near  Fornova/  he  was  unexpectedly  attacked 
by  an  army  of  60,000  men,  composed  of  the  pope's  troops, 
of  Venetians,  and  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Duke  of  Milan 
and  other  Italian  princes.  Their  design  was  to  surprise, 
defeat,  and  carry  the  king  away.  A  prize  of  100,000 
ducats  was  promised  to  the  man  who  brought  him  to 
the  camp,  dead  or  alive.  Six  ducats  were  moreover 
offered  for  every  Frenchman's  head ;  but  heaven  ordered 
it  otherwise. 

Charles,  although  compelled  to  fight  with  such  a 
handful  of  troops,  gained  a  complete  victory;^  10,000 
of  his  enemies  were  left  upon  the  field,  and  he  only  lost 
700  of  his  men ;  the  slaughter  would  doubtless  have 
been  greater,  but  the  sudden  rising  of  a  small  river 
hindered  the  king  from  profiting  by  his  success.^  The 
enemy  lost  almost  all  their  generals,  especially  the  Ve- 
netians ;  many  nobles  of  the  house  of  Mantua  perished, 
and  the  marquis  himself  owed  his  life  to  his  spurs  and 
the  swiftness  of  his  horse.  Bayard,  who  was  in  the  king's 
army,  in  De  Ligny's  company,  distinguished  himself  more 
than  any  one,  and  had  two  horses  killed  under  him. 
He  took  an  ensign  from  fifty  men-at-arms  and  presented 


'  A  town  in  the  Duchy  of  Parma,  three  leagues  south  of  that 
city. 

^  Amongst  the  gentlemen  who  fought  at  Fornova  were  a 
number  of  lords  of  Dauphiny  with  their  companies,  all  composed 
of  the  nobility  of  the  province;  but  as  it  would  take  too  much 
space  to  enumerate  them  all,  we  will  only  mention  the  Serrails, 
AUemans,  Sassenages,  Clermonts  and  others  who  acquitted 
themselves  with  much  valour. 

^  The  approach  of  night  forced  the  combatants  to  separate, 
the  king  being  resolved  to  finish  on  the  morrow  what  he  had  so 
well  begun ;  but,  in  the  interval,  a  stream  which  divided  the 
two  camps  rose  to  the  height  of  seven  feet  and  overflowed, 
saving,  no  doubt,  the  remains  of  the  combined  army 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  21 

it  to  the  king,  who,  already  informed  of  the  courageous 
ardour  that  he  had  shown  in  this  action,  granted  him 
500  crowns.  It  was  in  this  battle  that  Jacques  de  Cize- 
de-Chambarau  fought,  a  gentleman  of  Dauphinj,  whose 
whole  family,  both  male  and  female,  were  of  gigantic 
height.  He  was  then  one  of  the  king's  guards,  and  his 
family  became  extinct  in  Henry  IV.'s  reign. 

Charles,  after  his  glorious  exploits  at  Pornova,  ad- 
vanced to  Verceil,  where  he  found  a  considerable  body 
of  Swiss  ready  to  help  him;  he  raised  the  siege  of  No- 
varra,  where  Ludovic  Sforza,  calling  himself  Duke  of 
Milan,  kept  besieged,  Louis  Duke  of  Orleans,  afterwards 
Louis  XIL  The  nobility  of  Dauphiny,  who  had  done 
such  wonders  in  the  last  battle,  signalized  themselves 
before  Xovarra,  but  they  lost  three  of  their  number, 
Peter  of  Sassenage,  Charles  Alleman  (Bayard's  uncle), 
and  Barachim  Alleman,  his  cousin-german,  Lord  of 
Rochechinard,  Knight  of  Malta,  and  Grand  Prior  of 
Provence. 

The  king,  after  these  expeditions,  returned  to  France 
and  went  to  Lyons,  where  his  queen,  Anne,  and  his 
sister,  the  Duchess  of  Bourbon,^  had  arrived  on  their 
way  to  meet  him.  Arrived,  with  all  his  Court,  at  Paris, 
he  visited  the  tombs  of  his  ancestors  at  St.  Denis,  as  if 
he  had  foreseen  that,  although  only  twenty-six,  it  would 
not  be  long  before  he  joined  them.  The  next  two  years 
he  passed  in  visiting  his  kingdom,  showing  his  sub- 
jects a  shining  example  both  of  religion  and  morality. 
Finally,  he  went  to  Amboise,  where  he  heard  of  the 
general  revolt  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  the  triumphal 
entry  of  Frederic,  the  death  of  the  Count  of  Mont- 
pensier,    and    the    forced   return  of  his    troops.       He 

*  Anne  of  France,  wife  of  Peter  of  Bourbon,  lord  of  Beaujeu. 


22  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

resolved  to  return  in  person  for  the  reduction  of  this 
kingdom,  and  set  out  in  September,  1497,  for  Lyons, 
but  he  only  got  as  far  as  Tours  ;  he  returned  to  Am- 
boise  to  pass  the  winter  there,  and  died  suddenly  in  the 
month  of  April  following,  watching  a  game  of  tennis, 
aged  only  twenty-eight  years.  His  four  children,  by 
Anne  ot  Brittany,  died  before  him. 


CHAPTER   III. 


[1498.] 


IHARLES  VIII.  having  died  without  children, 
his  brother-in-law,  Louis,  the  Duke  of  Or- 
leans,^ succeeded  him.  He  had  married 
Charles's  sister  Jane,  but  was  speedily  di- 
vorced from  her.  The  pope  having  proclaimed  the 
marriage  null,  the  lady  retired  to  the  Duchy  of  Berry, 
which  the  king  gave  her,  and  died  seven  years  after  in 
the  odour  of  sanctity.  Louis,  having  settled  the  divorce, 
married  the  queen  dowager,  Anne  of  Bretagne.^ 

While  the  new  king  was  attending  to  the  internal 
affi\irs  of  the  country.  Bayard  was  visiting  his  friends  in 
Savoy,  in  the  house  of  the  duke  where  he  had  been  ? 


'  He  was  then  thirty-six  yeai'S  old,  and  was  the  son  of 
Charles,  Duke  of  Orleans,  whose  father,  Louis  I,  brother  of 
Charles  YI,  had  married  Valentine  of  Milan,  from  whom  he 
derived  his  right  to  the  duchy.  The  mother  of  Louis  XIL 
^vas  Maria  of  Cleves. 

'  "  Whether  it  (the  divorce)  were  ill  or  well  done,  God 
knows,"  says  the  Loyal  Servant.  Anne's  marriage  contract  with 
Charles  YIIL  contained  this  singular  clause,  that  in  case  she 
became  a  widow  sb.e  could  only  marry  the  king's  successor;  this 
was  done  to  render  more  sure  the  union  of  her  duchy  of  Bretagne 
with  the  crown  of  France. 


24  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

page.  Charles  I,  his  old  master,  whose  memory  was 
still  dear  to  him,  was  dead,  and  his  widow,  Blanche 
Pateologue,  the  heiress  of  Mont-Serrat  (daughter  of 
William  VI.  and  Elizabeth  Sforza)  was  at  Carignan  in 
Piedmont,  which  had  been  given  to  her  as  dowry.  She 
was  a  virtuous  and  generous  princess,  and  had  always 
entertained  as  much  friendship  for  Bayard  as  the  late 
duke,  her  husband.  Her  Court  was  as  brilliant  as  any 
in  Europe,  and  strangers  were  received  there  with  royal 
magnificence.  The  wife  of  the  Lord  of  Fluxas,  who 
was  the  superintendent  of  the  duchess's  house,  was  one 
of  her  maids  when  Bayard  first  entered  the  house  as 
page  to  the  duke.  She  was  beautiful,  witty,  vir- 
tuous, and  belonged  to  a  good  family.  Bayard  was 
endowed  with  the  same  advantages,  and  a  friendship 
commenced  between  the  young  people,  which  soon 
ripened  into  love.  And,  if  fate  had  been  propitious,  they 
would  doubtless  have  been  united  in  marriage  ;  but  the 
duke's  journey  to  Lyons  and  the  entrance  of  Bayard 
into  the  king's  service  separated  them  so  entirely  that 
from  that  time  until  his  present  visit  they  had  only 
communicated  by  letter.  He  found  her  advantageously 
married  to  the  rich  and  powerful  Lord  of  Fluxas. 
When  she  saw  the  knight  she  received  him  with  every 
sign  of  friendship.  She  had  heard  of  his  exploits  and 
congratulated  him  upon  them,  and  they  talked  over 
their  boy  and  girl  passion  for  each  other.  She  finally 
asked  Bayard  to  give  a  tournament,  to  which  he  im- 
mediately consented,  and  said  it  should  be  in  a  few 
days.  Bayard  kissed  the  lady's  hand,  and  asked  her 
for  one  of  her  sleeves.  The  lady  gave  it  him  and  he 
put  it  into  the  sleeve  of  his  doublet,  intending  it  for 
the  victor's  prize.  The  herald  proclaimed  the  tourna- 
ment,   and   brought   the   names   of   fifteen    gentlemen 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  25 

who  promised  to  be  there.  The  day  having  arrived, 
Bayard  and  the  Lord  of  Ronastre  first  entered  the  lists; 
Bayard  was  victorious.  The  tournament  lasted  all  day, 
and  at  the  close  of  it  the  Lord  of  Fluxas,  by  the 
duchess's  commands,  invited  all  the  gentlemen  to  sup- 
per with  her,  and  while  at  table  the  judges  awarded  the 
prize  to  Bayard.  Bayard  blushed,  and  refused  it.  He 
said  that  the  lady  who  provided  the  sleeve'^  should  give 
the  prize.  She  said  she  would  keep  the  sleeve  herself 
for  the  sake  of  the  victor,  and  as  he  refused  to  receive 
the  prize  she  gave  a  ruby  pendant  to  the  Lord  Mon- 
dragon,  who,  next  to  Bayard,  had  been  the  most  suc- 
cessful combatant.  The  prize  was  then  delivered  and 
the  customary  ball  began  ;  the  gaieties  were  continued 
four  or  five  days,  after  which  each  gentleman  returned 
to  his  garrison.  The  duchess  was  overjoyed  to  see  her 
quondam  page  so  generally  esteemed  and  respected,  and 
so  beloved  that  no  one  was  jealous  of  him. 

A  short  time  after,  Ludovic  Sforza,  who  had  retired 
to  Germany,  had  raised  a  considerable  army  there 
of  Swiss  and  Burgundians,  and  a  fine  body  of  German 
cavalry.  With  these  troops  he  entered  Lombardy,  and 
on  the  3rd  of  January  he  surprised  the  town  of  Milan, 
and  drove  the  French  from  it.  Following  the  example 
of  the  capital,  several  other  towns  submitted  to  Sforza, 
and  the  king,  hearing  of  the  fresh  revolt,  sent  a  powerful 
army  under  the  orders  of  the  Count  of  Ligny  and  De 
Trivulce,  to  reduce  the  rebels  to  subjection. 

Bayard  had  remained  in  Italy,  by  permission  of  the 
Count  of  Liornv.       He  believed   that   Ludovic  would 


^  M.  de  Berville  has  ''bracelet"  here,  while  the  "right 
joyous  history"  reads  sleeve,  which  is  more  in  keeping-  with  the 
manners  of  the  time ;  it  was  probably  the  heraldic  matiche  worn 
still  as  a  charge  in  coats  of  arras. 


26  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

soon  return  and  cause  more  trouble  than  on  his  first 
campaign,  in  which  Bayard  had  not  taken  part.  His 
ardent  wish  to  excel  in  his  profession  kept  him  con- 
tinually on  the  watch  for  occasions  to  distinguish  him- 
self and  serve  his  prince.  He  was  in  garrison  then, 
twenty  miles  from  Milan,  where  he  passed  the  time  with 
his  comrades  in  military  exercises.  One  day  he  was 
informed  that  there  were  three  hundred  horse  in  Binasco 
that  might  be  easily  defeated.  He  spoke  of  it  to  his 
companions  who  were  only  too  glad  to  join  him  in 
undertaking  it ;  so  they  set  off  early  the  next  morning 
to  the  number  of  about  fifty  officers  to  try  the  adven- 
ture. Jean  Bernardin  Cazache,  the  captain  on  the 
other  side,  who  commanded  in  Binasco,  was  brave  and 
alert.  He  learnt  from  his  spies  that  a  French  party 
was  coming  to  attack  them.  As  soon  as  the  two  troops 
perceived  each  other  they  commenced  the  fight,  the  war- 
cry  on  the  one  side  being  "  France !  France  !  "  and  on 
the  other,  "  Moor !  INIoor  ! "  The  charge  was  brisk,  and 
a  great  many  were  thrown  from  their  horses,  and  others 
with  great  difficulty  retained  their  seats.  But  Bayard 
seemed  Tike  a  furious  lion.  He  made  the  heads  and  arms 
fly  with  unparalleled  dexterity  and  rapidity.  Seeing  that, 
after  an  hour's  fighting,  the  victory  was  not  yet  decided 
in  his  favour,  he  cried  out,  "What,  my  companions! 
shall  we  let  this  handful  of  men  keep  us  here  all  day  ? 
Courage,  my  friends,  let  us  redouble  our  blows,  and 
overturn  them."  These  words  reanimated  his  men; 
each  one  felt  a  new  ardour,  and  again  crying,  "France  ! 
France  ! "  they  fell  upon  their  enemies  with  such  impe- 
tuosity that  they  drove  them  from  the  place.  The 
French  followed  them  four  or  five  miles  towards  Milan  ; 
but  the  Lombardians,  finding  themselves  near  the 
town,  turned  their  horses  and  thvis  saved  themselves. 


LIFE     OF    BAYARD.  27 

tbe  French  still  chasing  them.  When  the  French  were 
near  the  walls,  one  of  the  principal  and  the  most  expe- 
rienced, seeing  the  danger,  cried,  "Turn,  men-at-arms, 
turn  ! "  Every  one  obeyed  except  Bayard,  who  was 
too  excited  to  hear.  He  pursued  the  fugitives  with  so 
much  ardour  that  he  entered  Milan  with  them  and 
chased  them  as  far  as  the  king's  palace.  Th3  white 
crosses  that  he  wore  soon  caused  him  to  be  recognized  as 
a  Frenchman,  and  the  people  cried  out,  "Take  him! 
Take  him ! "  He  was  surrounded  in  a  moment,  and 
taken  prisoner  by  Cazache,  who  took  him  and  disarmed 
him.  He  was  surprised  to  see  one  only  twenty-four 
years  old  giving  signs  of  such  extraordinary  valour. 

Ludovic,  hearing  the  noise  and  the  uproar,  asked 
the  cause :  they  told  him  of  the  defeat  of  the  captain 
Cazache,  and  that  a  young  Frenchman  had  pursued 
the  fugitives  even  to  the  palace.  He  was  curious  to 
see  him,  and  commanded  him  to  be  brought.  Cazache 
was  told  to  present  himself  with  his  prisoner  before  Lu- 
dovic ;  he  was  afraid  that  Ludcvic  would  be  in  a  fury, 
and  cause  him  to  be  assassinated. 

"  My  good  gentleman,"  said  Ludovic  to  the  knight, 
"  come  here,  and  tell  me  what  has  brought  you  to  this 
town." 

Bayard,  who  was  never  astonished  at  anything, 
freely  replied,  "  I  had  no  idea  that  I  was  alone ;  I 
thought  my  companions  were  behind  me ;  but  they  are 
wiser  than  I,  and  more  used  to  the  ways  of  war,  or 
they  would  undoubtedly  have  been  made  prisoners  as 
well  as  myself.  In  the  meantime,  in  my  disgrace,  I 
thank  heaven  that  I  have  fallen  into  such  good  hands  as 
yours." 

Ludovic  then  asked  him  the  number  of  the  French 
army. 


28  SFOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

"  Sir,"  replied  Bayard,  "  I  do  not  think  that  there 
are  more  than  1400  or  1500  men-at-arms,  and  from 
16,000  to  18,000  foot  soldiers,  but  they  are  all  picked 
men,  and  resolved  to  make  the  duchy  of  Milan  submit 
at  once  and  for  ever  to  the  king  their  master ;  and  for 
you,  sir,  I  assure  you,  you  will  be  safer  in  Germany  than 
here,  for  your  men  cannot  possibly  resist  us." 

The  duke  appeared  amused  at  the  certainty  with 
which  Bayard  spoke,  but  it  gave  him  something  to 
think  of.  Nevertheless,  he  hid  his  fears  under  a  show 
of  bravery,  and  gave  the  young  knight  to  understand 
that  he  wished  for  nothing  more  ardently  than  a  meet- 
ing between  his  troops  and  those  of  the  king  of  France. 

Bayard  replied  that  nothing  would  give  him  greater 
pleasure  also,  provided  he  were  not  in  prison. 

"  Set  your  mind  at  rest,"  said  the  prince,  "  it  is  my 
intention  to  set  you  free.  Ask  anything  you  like  of 
me,  and  I  will  grant  it  you." 

The  knight  had  not  expected  such  generosity.  He 
knelt  on  one  knee  to  thank  him.  "  Sir,"  said  he,  "  the 
greatest  favour  I  can  ask  of  you  is  to  restore  my  arms 
and  my  horse,  and  allow  me  a  guide  to  the  garrison 
twenty  miles  distant ;  and,  believe  me,  I  shall  always  be 
ready  to  serve  you,  if  I  can  do  so  in  honour  to  my  king 
and  to  my  country." 

The  duke  ordered  Cazache  to  restore  his  arms  and 
horse,  which  that  noble  officer  was  only  too  ready  to  do. 
The  horse  having  arrived.  Bayard  vaulted  into  the 
saddle  with  his  usual  grace  and  agility,  and  again  thank- 
ing the  duke  for  his  generosity,  departed  with  the 
guide. 

Ludovic  was  far  from  rejoiced  at  what  had  happened. 
Although  he  admired  the  courage  and  sang-froid  of 
Bayard,  he  naturally  thought  that  if  all  the  men  of  the 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  29 

French  army  were  like  him,  he  himself  would  not  be 
likely  to  prove  victorious. 

On  Bayard's  arrival  at  the  camp,  he  presented  himself 
To  his  general,  the  Count  of  Ligny,  who  was  much 
astonished  to  see  him.  "  What,  Piquet !  "  said  he,  "are 
you  out  of  prison  ?  Have  you  paid  your  ransom  ?  I 
was  about  to  send  a  herald  to  pay  it,  and  bring  you 
back." 

"  Sir,"  replied  Bayard,  "  I  thank  you  sincerely,  as  I 
ought.  Ludovic  has  spared  you  the  trouble,  and  proved 
himself  a  rival  in  generosity  even  to  yourself — he  has 
allowed  me  to  return  without  ransom."  He  then  related 
to  him  and  a  crowd  of  officers  who  were  present  the 
whole  of  the  adventure  from  first  to  last ;  and,  in  reply 
to  the  Lord  Jean  Jacques,  who  asked  him  if  he  thought 
Ludovic  would  risk  battle,  he  replied  that  Ludovic  had 
not  given  him  to  understand  as  much  as  that,  but  that 
]ie  was  a  man  not  easily  astonished,  and  one  for  whom 
They  must  be  always  ready.  "As  for  me,"  he  continued, 
•'I  can  only  praise  him;  and  all  I  know  is,  that  the 
greater  part  of  his  men  are  in  Novarra,  and  that  to  do 
anything  he  must  either  join  them  or  order  them  to 
come  to  him." 


CHAPTER   IV 


E  have  previously  said  that  Ludovic  had 
entered  into  Milan,  but  that  the  citadel 
still  remained  in  the  possession  of  the 
French.  When  he  saw  the  king's  army  so 
near  him,  he  was  afraid  of  being  hemmed  in  between  it 
and  the  citadel,  so  he  went  away  secretly  in  the  night  to 
Novarra,  taking  almost  all  his  followers,  and  leaving 
the  rest  in  jNLilan,  Avith  his  brother,  the  cardinal.  Just 
at  this  critical  juncture,  La  Tremouille  joined  the  Count 
of  Ligny  and  Trivulce,  and  they  resolved  to  attack 
Ludovic  in  Novarra.  Ludovic's  troops  were  strong  in 
number,  but  composed  of  Burgundians,  Swiss,  Lansque- 
nets, and  German  cavalry.  They  were,  in  consequence 
of  their  variety,  difficult  to  govern.  Thus,  in  a  few- 
days,  the  town  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French  gene- 
rals. This  happened  the  Friday  before  Palm  Sunday. 
It  was  reported  that  the  prince  was  not  in  the  town, 
and  that  he  had  escaped  to  Germany.  Whether  he  was 
betrayed  or  not  is  not  certain ;  it  was  ordered  that  the 
foot-soldiers  should  pass  under  the  halberd,  and  Ludovic, 
pressing  amongst  these  in  the  dress  of  a  common  soldier, 
was  recognized  and  made  prisoner,  set  free  on  parole,^ 


'  Ludovic  Sforza  was  carried  prisoner  into  France,  at  first  to 
Pierre-Encise,  at  Lyons;  afterwards  to  Lis-St. -George's,  at 
l?erry ;  and,  finally,  to  the  castle  of  Loches  iu  Touraine,  where 
lie  died  in  1510. 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  -31 

and  the  rest  of  his  army  were  allowed  to  march  away. 
Ludovic  Sforza,  with  bag  and  baggage,  was  conveyed  to 
France,  and,  after  being  a  prisoner  at  Lyons,  in  Bern', 
and  in  Touraine,  successively,  died  in  1510.  It  is  very 
certain  that,  before  the  engagement,  the  Swiss  had 
mutinied,  either  because  their  pay  was  irregular  or  at 
the  instigation  of  Antoine  de  Bessai,"-^  Grand  Bailitf  of 
Dijon,  who  was  in  great  repute  amongst  them.  It  has 
also  been  hazarded  that  they  would  not  fight  against 
their  numerous  countrymen  in  the  king's  army.  Such  a 
determination  would  speedily  decide  the  loss  or  gain  of 
a  battle.  Whatever  it  was,  Ludovic  deserved  a  happier 
fate  if  he  had  fought  for  a  better  cause.  He  was  brave, 
generous,  and  beneficent ;  but  his  good  qualities  failed 
to  insure  him  against  the  caprices  of  fortune. 

When  his  brother,  the  cardinal,  learnt  that  he  was  a 
prisoner,  he  quickly  sent  his  two  sons  to  the  Emperor  of 
Germany,  and  was  himself  proceeding  to  Boulogne  with 
an  escort  of  500  or  600  horse,  but  he  was  stopped  on 
the  road  by  Severin  de  Gonzagua,  captain  of  the  Vene- 
tians, who  sent  him  to  the  French,  and  took  care  of  the 
booty,  money,  and  baggage,  the  value  of  which  they 
estimated  at  two  hundred  ducats. 

The  rebels  at  Milan  did  not  know  the  fate  of  their 
princes  whom  they  had  submitted  to  the  king,  and  they 
fully  expected  their  town  to  be  plundered,  but  they 
found  tlie  king  and  his  generals  more  magnanimous  than 
they  merited,  for  they  entirely  pardoned  them. 


'^  Antoine  de  Bessai,  baron  of  Senchatel,  and  of  an  old  and 
illustrious  house  in  the  county  of  Burgundy.  He  was  held  in 
high  esteem  in  the  Swiss  Cantons,  and  it  was  he  who  was  com- 
missioned by  the  king  to  raise  a  body  of  15,000  Swiss  for  the 
•  onquestof  Milan. 


32  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

Louis,  wishing  to  reward  his  officers  for  the  services 
they  had  rendered  him  at  Milan,  had  given  them,  as 
fiefs,  several  places  in  the  duchy;  amongst  others,  he 
gave  Tortona  and  Voghiera  to  the  Count  of  Ligny,  be- 
sides several  smaller  places.  They  had  all  followed  the 
example  of  the  capital,  and  submitted  themselves  to 
Ludovic.  The  count  resolved  to  punish  them  for  their 
treachery.  He  took  with  him  the  famous  captain  Louis 
d'Ars,  Bayard,  and  several  other  officers.  When  his 
subjects  knew  his  intentions,  and  that  he  had  already 
reached  Alexandria,  resolved,  as  he  said,  to  destroy  them 
by  fire  and  sword  (although  this  was  a  mere  threat), 
they  were  extremely  alarmed,  fearing  a  destruction 
which  they  knew  they  deserved.  They  selected  twenty 
of  their  best  men,  and  sent  them  to  their  new  master  to 
sue  for  mercy.  This  deputation  met  him  at  a  few 
miles  from  Voghiera,  but  he  appeared  not  to  notice  it, 
and  continued  his  way  to  the  town.  The  suppliants, 
exceedingly  frightened,  followed  him,  and  implored 
Louis  d'Ars  to  intercede  for  them.  This,  Avith  his  usual 
generosity,  the  gallant  captain  promised  to  do,  and  told 
them  to  visit  the  count  the  next  day.  In  the  interval, 
he  informed  the  count  of  the  visit  he  might  expect,  and 
begged  him  to  pardon  the  miscreants. 

The  next  day,  after  the  count's  dinner,  fifty  of  the 
principal  citizens  appeared,  and  presented  themselves  on 
their  knees  and  bareheaded  before  him.  A  very  elo- 
quent man  among  them  begged  for  mercy  in  a  soul- 
stirring  speech ;  but  the  count  appeared  inflexible,  and 
treated  with  the  utmost  disdain  the  large  quantity  of 
silver  they  had  brought  him  as  a  peace-offering.  The 
poor  fellows  were  in  great  distress,  and  thought  that 
certain  death  must  be  their  fate,  when  Louis  d'Ars 
stepped  forward,  and,  with  his  liat  in  his  hand  and  one 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  33 

knee  on  the  ground,  pleaded  for  them,  for  the  sake  of 
God  and  His  Son  Jesus  Christ. 

The  count  was  moved  almost  to  tears.  "  Go,"  he 
said,  "  I  pardon  you  for  the  sake  of  the  Captain  of  Ars, 
whose  services  deserve  even  a  better  return  than  that. 
As  to  your  silver,  I  cannot  accept  it."  Then,  turning 
to  Bayard,  "  Piquet,  take  all  this,  it  will  adorn  your 
table." 

•■  I  thank  you,"  replied  Bayard;  "God  forbid  that  the 
wealth  of  traitors  and  unfaithful  subjects  should  be  used 
by  me  ;  they  would  do  me  harm."  So  saying,  he  took 
the  plate,  piece  by  piece,  and  distributed  it  amongst 
those  present,  not  keeping  one  for  himself  Then  he 
left  the  room,  and  the  deputation  followed  him.  When 
he  was  gone,  all  the  company  began  to  speak  of  the 
generosity  of  Bayard.  They  all  agreed  that  he  would 
be  one  day  one  of  the  most  perfect  of  men.  The  next 
day,  to  reward  him  for  his  generosity,  the  count  pre- 
sented him  with  a  magnificent  velvet  dress,  a  valuable 
horse,  and  a  purse  containing  three  hundred  crowns, 
which  he  immediately  shared  with  his  comrades. 

A  few  days  after,  the  count  returned  to  Milan,  where 
the  Cardinal  d'Amboise  had  just  arrived  as  lieutenant- 
general  for  the  king  in  Lombardy,  and  thence  returned 
to  France. 

The  treachery  of  the  Neapolitans,  and  the  loss  of  that 
kingdom,  would  certainly  have  been  revenged  by  Charles 
VIII.  had  he  lived.  Louis  XII,  his  successor,  began 
his  reign  with  the  conquest  of  Milan,  so  that  his  in- 
tended vengeance  upon  Naples  was  postponed.^      Fer- 

^  It  -vvas  during  this  campaifrn  of  1503  that  Bayard,  offended 
by  Hyacinth  Simonetta,  a  man  belonging  to  a  noble  Milanese 
house,  of  merit  and  valour,  but  insolently  arrogant,  challenged 
D 


34  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

tlinand,  the  son  of  Alphonse,  in  wliose  favour  the 
rebellion  was  raised,  was  dead,  and  his  uncle,  Frederic, 
had  succeeded  hira. 

During  the  life  of  Charles,  the  Count  of  Ligny  had 
married  Eleanor  de  Baux,  princess  of  Altemore.  The 
house  of  Baux  was  ancient  and  illustrious ;  it  was  a 
Provencal  fiimily,  which  had  removed  to  Naples.  When 
duty  called  the  count  away,  the  lady  felt  it  so  deeply 
that  she  died  of  grief.  By  her  death  and  the  king's 
munificence,  De  Ligny  possessed  many  lands  and  houses 
in  the  kingdom,  particularly  in  La  Pouille,  such  as  Ve- 
noye,  Canose,  Monervine,  Berjeilles,  and  others.  Louis 
having  resolved  to  make  Naples  submit  to  him,  the 
Count  of  Ligny  had  hoped  to  command  the  king's  army 
there,  but  his  plan  was  twice  frustrated,  and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  vexation  for  the  disappointment  occasioned 
his  death,  which  happened,  a  short  time  after,  on  the 
31st  of  December,  1503. 

Berault  Stuart,'*  Lord  d'Aubigny,  was  appointed  by 
the  king  to  command  his  army.  He  was  a  wise,  brave 
officer,  then  captain  of  the  Scotch  Guard.  The  army 
was  compact  and  numerous,  both  in  infantry  and  cavalry. 
The  Count  of  Ligny's  company  was  under  the  orders  of 

him  to  a  duel  and  killed  him.  We  only  fiod  this  in  Alcyat, 
a  Milanese  jurisconsul,  who,  without  relating:  either  the  cause  or 
the  circumstances,  says,  "  I  have  seen  knie:hts  who,  too  much 
affecting  goodness  and  grace  under  arms,  have  let  victory 
escape  them.  Such  was  Hyacinth  Simonetta,  a  Milanese 
gentleman,  who  fought  against  Bayard,  a  French  captain, 
during  the  first  itiroads  of  the  French  to  Italy.  It  was  a  mani- 
fest presage  of  the  overthrow  of  Sforza,  which  happened  soon 
after." 

*  The  president  Henaut  (Ahrege  Chron.)and  the  Abbe  La- 
vocat  (Diet.  Hist  )  call  him  Kobert  Stuart,  but  his  real  name 
vas  Btrault.     He  died  in  154s. 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  35 

Louis  d'Ars.  Bayard  took  leave  of  his  old  master  with 
great  friendship  expressed  on  both  sides,  and  much 
reeret. 

D'Aubigny  marched  straight  iuro  Xaples,  and  with 
such  speed,  that  Frederic,  taken  by  surprise,  and  little 
loved  by  his  subjects,  was  unable  to  defend  himself,  and 
had  no  other  resource  but  to  make  the  best  conditions 
possible.  He  made  his  treaty  with  the  French  general, 
by  whom  he  was  told  that  he  would  be  taken  into  France 
with  his  wife  and  his  children,^  and  that  he  would  have 
for  appanage  the  enjoyment  of  the  duchy  of  Anjou  for 
life.  He  was  received  by  the  king  with  the  honour  due 
to  his  dignity,  and  the  treaty  was  strictly  observed  while 
he  lived :  but  after  his  death,  in  1504,  his  widow  was  so 
neoflected  that  she  fell  into  a  sad  state  of  indigence  and 
mi?i^ry. 

Xaples  conquered,  the  companies  were  garrisoned  in 
the  kingdom.  The  Count  of  Ligny's  company  went  to 
the  lands  that  belonged  to  that  nobleman,  and  Louis 
d'Ars  made  Bayard  governor  of  a  quantity  of  the  pos- 
sessions of  De  Ligny.  He  acquitted  himself  to  the 
satisfaction  of  everybody. 

About  the  same  time  another  treaty  was  made  with 
Ferdinand,  King  of  Arragon,  husband  of  Isabella  of 
Castille,  father  of  Jane  the  Fool,  and  grandfather  of 
Charles  Y.  Ferdinand  had  claims  upon  a  part  of  the 
kingdoBx  of  Naples,  which  was  given  to  him  by  the 
king.  By  this  treaty  peace  was  made  between  the  two 
princes  and  with  the  Emperor  Maximilian,   and  pub- 


^  Frederic  married  oue  of  his  daughters  tfl  La  Tremouille. 
From  that  circumstance  that  house  claimed  rights  to  the 
crown  of  Xaples,  and  the  eldest  sons  bore  the  title  of  Princes  of 
Tarento. 


36  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

lished  at  Lyons  the  same  year.  The  mediator  was  the 
Archduke  Philip,  son-in-law  of  Ferdinand ;  he  also 
drew  up  the  treaty,  which  was  soon  violated,  and  while 
Louis  was  resting  securely  upon  the  faith  of  Ferdinand, 
the  latter  sent  a  powerful  army  to  Ferdinand  Gonzalva, 
called  the  great  captain^  his  lieutenant  in  those  parts 
which  had  been  ceded  to  him.  These  troops  entered 
into  the  kingdom  of  Naples  by  the  connivance  of  Pope 
Alexander  VI,  took  the  capital,  and  drove  the  French 
from  almost  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  D'Aubigny  opposed 
them  as  long  as  possible  ;  but,  at  last,  forced  to  yield  to 
numbers,  he  retired  to  La  Pouille,  where  he  remained  a 
long  time — till  the  year  1 504,  when,  after  havmg  engaged  in 
a  great  number  of  battles,  gained  some  and  lost  others, 
the  French  were  obliged  to  leave  the  country. 

But  let  us  return  to  our  hero  during  the  sojourn  of 
the  French  in  La  Pouille.  Being  in  garrison  at  Moner- 
vine,  he  was  tired  of  doing  nothing,  and  proposed  to  his 
comrades  that  they  should  go  out  and  search  for  stray 
parties  of  Spaniards  whom  they  might  overcome.  The 
proposition  was  received  with  joy,  and  they  set  out  at 
daybreak  resolved  not  to  return  without  having  seen  and 
encountered  the  enemy.  On  the  same  day,  the  Spanish 
captain,  Don  Alonzo  de  Soto  Mayor,  had  proposed  to 
go  out  and  meet  the  French ;  and  Bayard  and  Alonzo 
were  both  equally  pleased  at  the  thought  of  a  contest 
when  the  numbers  were  so  well  matched.  The  numbers 
were  about  equal.  When  the  good  knight  recognized 
the  Spaniards  by  their  red  crosses,  he  turned  round 
in  his  saddle,  and  said  to  his  troop,  "  Now,  my  friends, 
here  is  just  what  we  came  to  look  for ;  here  is  some 
honour  to  be  gained.  Let  us  do  our  duty.  If  you  don't 
see  me  do  mine,  hold  me  all  my  life  as  a  poltroon." 

"  Charge!  "  shouted  the  company  ;  "  don't  let  us  give 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  37 

them  the  honour  of  attacking  us."  Then,  lowering  their 
visors  and  putting  their  horses  to  the  guHop,  they  fell 
upon  the  Spanish  troop,  crying,  "France!  France!" 
On  their  side,  the  Spaniards  returned  the  cheer  with 
''  Spain  !  Spain  !  St.  Jago  !  "  and,  with  lance  in  rest, 
received  them  vigorously.  At  the  first  shock  a  great 
many  were  dismounted  on  both  sides,  and  their  compa- 
nions had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  to  remount.  The 
affair  lasted  for  about  half  an  hour,  each  striving  for 
victory.  The  second  attack  was  on  the  flank.  At  last, 
Bayard  so  inspirited  his  men  by  word  and  example  that 
the  Spaniards  were  defeated.  They  left  seven  on  the 
field  and  as  many  prisoners  ;  the  rest  took  to  flight,  their 
commander  Soto  Mayor  with  them.  Bayard  pursued 
him  and  called  upon  him  to  stop  if  he  did  not  wish  to 
be  slain  from  the  rear;  not  wishing  to  die  an  ignominious 
death,  he  turned.  They  fought,  and  the  Spaniard  yielded 
to  the  Frenchman,  after  displaying  courage  only  second 
to  that  of  Bayard  himself  The  French  did  not  lose  a 
single  man  in  this  skirmish,  although  .five  or  six  were 
wounded.  Bayard  behaved  nobly  to  his  prisoner, 
treating  him  with  all  the  honour  due  to  so  distin- 
guished a  soldier,  and  leaving  him  free,  on  receiving  his 
word  of  honour  that  he  would  not  go  beyond  the  castle 
walls.  Wearying  of  his  captivity,  although  he  was  as 
free  as  prisoner  could  possibly  be,  Don  Alonzo  planned 
his  escape.  He  bribed  an  Albanian  named  Theode  to 
provide  two  horses,  by  means  of  which  they  could  both 
leach  the  nearest  garrison  of  the  Spaniards.  Theode, 
who  had  a  great  affection  for  money  (of  which  he  was 
promised  a  large  sum  by  Alonzo),  consented  to  aid  his 
escape,  and  they  set  off,  Alonzo  intending  to  send  Bavard 
his  ransom,  the  price  of  which  had  been  fixed  at  1000 
ducats.    Bayard,  soon  after  their  departure,  came  round 


38  SFOTLESS  AXD  FEARLESS. 

to  have  his  usual  talk  with  his  prisoner,  but  he  was 
nowhere  to  be  found.  Bayard's  rage  and  indignation  at 
the  departure  of  the  Spaniard  and  the  Albanian  were 
indescribable.  He  ordered  eleven  of  his  faithful  servants 
to  ride  towards  Andres,  and  overtake  the  fugitives. 
They  had  scarcely  gone  two  miles  when  they  perceived 
the  two  not  far  distant.  Alonzo  was  on  foot  attending 
his  horse's  saddle-girths.  Before  he  could  remount  he 
was  fallen  upon  by  Bayard's  men  and  brought  back  to 
Monervine.  Bayard,  as  may  be  imagined,  severely  re- 
proached him,  and  treated  his  petty  excuse  of  ennui  with 
contempt.  He  was  then  confined  to  one  of  the  towers, 
but  in  all  other  respects  treated  as  before.  At  the  end 
of  fifteen  days  a  herald  and  one  of  his  valets  arrived 
with  his  ransom,  and  he  was  set  at  liberty.  He  re- 
mained just  long  enough  to  take  leave  of  Bayard  and 
the  other  officers,  and  to  see  the  whole  of  his  ransom 
money  distributed  amongst  the  soldiers. 

Upon  Don  Alonzo's  arrival  at  Andres  he  was  ques- 
tioned as  to  the  character  of  Bayard.  He  praised  the 
character  of  the  man,  but  complained  of  the  way  in 
which  he  had  been  treated  as  a  prisoner,  saying  he  would 
resent  such  conduct  to  his  dying  day.  His  hearers  were 
divided  in  their  opinions,  some  sympathised  with  their 
countryman,  others  thought  Bayard  in  the  right,  while 
others  again  consoled  him  with  the  remark  that  "prisons 
were  never  beautiful  places." 

It  came  to  Bayard's  eai^s  that  Don  Alonzo  complained 
of  his  treatment  while  he  was  his  prisoner;  he  called  all 
his  company  together  and  asked  them,  as  honourable 
men,  to  tell  him  if  they  had  ever  by  word  or  deed  treated 
the  Spaniard  in  a  manner  to  be  complained  of.  They 
all  answered  that  they  had  treated  him  as  they  would 
wish  to  be  treated  under  similar  circumstances.    There- 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  39 

upon  Bayard  sent  for  his  secretary  and  dictated  a  chal- 
lenge to  Don  Alonzo.  The  herald  by  whom  he  sent  it 
brought  back  a  reply  saying  that  Don  Alonzo  would  meet 
Bayard  within  fifteen  days,  at  two  miles  from  Andres,  or 
in  any  other  place  which  seemed  good  to  him.  Bayard, 
who  was  far  from  well,  accepted  all  the  terms  of  the 
challenge,  and  having  obtained  permission  to  fight  from 
the  Lord  of  La  Pallisse,  lieutenant  of  the  Duke  de  Ne- 
mours, he  chose  his  old  friend  Bellabre  for  a  second. 

When  the  day  arrived  Bayard  was  first  upon  the 
field,  mounted  and  dressed  in  white.  The  Spaniard  had 
not  yet  arrived,  and  the  herald  was  despatched  to  hasten 
his  coming.  Bayard  had  previously  allowed  him  the 
choice  of  the  manner  of  fighting ;  hearing  that  he  was 
on  horseback,  Alonzo  sent  to  say  that  he  chose  to  fight 
on  foot,  thinking  that  Bayard,  who  was  very  ill,  would 
be  obliged  to  refuse  to  fight  in  consequence.  But  he 
had  mistaken  the  character  of  the  man.  Bayard  was 
certainly  surprised,  but  he  quickly  recovered  himself 
and  sent  back  the  herald  to  hasten  his  adversary,  who 
presently  arrived  accompanied  by  the  Marquis  of  Licite, 
Don  Diego  Quignones,  Don  Pedi'O  de  Valdes,  Don 
Francisco  d'Altemez  and  numerous  others.  Chabannes, 
D'Oroze,  D'Humbercourt,  Foutrailles,  Baron  of  Beam, 
and  many  more  had  come  with  Bayard  to  the  field. 
The  combat  was  of  long  duration.  Bayard,  notwith- 
standing his  weakness,  fought  with  his  usual  skill  and 
bravery.  After  some  time,  during  which  Alonzo  man- 
aged to  keep  even  with  his  adversary,  Bayard  thrust  his 
long  sword  into  the  Spaniard's  throat,  and  parrying  the 
blows  which  the  enraged  Spaniard  aimed  at  him,  he 
waited  till  the  loss  of  blood  had  considerably  weakened 
him,  and  then,  flinging  himself  upon  his  adversary,  they 
rolled  together  in  the  dust,  Bayard  giving  Don  Alonzo 


40       SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

a  poniard  thrust  between  tlie  nose  and  the  left  eye. 
He  then  called  upon  hhii  to  give  himself  up,  but  the 
Spaniard  was  dead.  Bayard  was  deeply  grieved  that 
he  had  killed  his  adversary,  but  the  deed  could  not  now 
be  undone,  and  he  flung  himself  on  his  knees  and  thanked 
God  for  giving  him  the  victory.  He  then  went  to  the 
umpire,  Don  Diego,  and  asked  him  if  he  was  satisfied 
with  what  he  had  done  ?  "  You  have  done  too  well  for 
the  honour  of  Spain,"  Don  Diego  replied,  sorrowfully. 
"  As  the  body  is  at  my  disposal,"  said  Bayard,  "  I  give 
it  to  you ;  I  heartily  wish  I  could  give  him  back  to  you 
alive."  Then,  amidst  great  cries  and  much  lamentation, 
the  Spaniards  bore  the  dead  body  away,  and  the  French 
carried  back  the  conqueror  to  the  sound  of  trumpets, 
hautboys,  and  numerous  other  instruments. 


CHAPTER  V. 


jHEN  he  reached  home,  his  first  act  was  to 
proceed  at  once  to  the  church,  where  he  a 
second  time  offered  up  thanks  to  God  ;  and 
afterwards  gave  a  magnificent  banquet  to 
the  ofiicers  his  comrades.  This  combat  spread  the  re- 
putation of  our  hero  over  the  whole  kingdom. 

After  this  event  there  was  a  truce  of  two  months  pro- 
claimed between  the  French  and  Spanish.  The  Spanish 
were  inconsolable  for  the  loss  of  Soto  Mayor,  and  vowed 
vengeance  against  the  French.  The  officers  often  walked 
near  each  others'  camps,  and  the  Spaniards  appeared  to 
take  pleasure  in  trying  to  insult  the  French. 

One  day  thirteen  Spaniards  met  Bayard  and  his  good 
friend  D'Oroze  just  outside  the  French  camp  at  Moner- 
vine.  The  Spaniards  saluted  the  two  friends,  and  they 
returned  their  salutation. 

One  of  the  Spaniards,  Don  Diego  de  Bizagna,  who 
bad  belonged  to  Soto  Mayor's  company,  and  was,  more- 
over, a  brave  and  bold  knight,  and  could  not  forgive 
Bayard  for  causing  his  death,  stepped  forward,  and  said  to 
Bayard,  "  My  good  French  lord,  the  truce  has  only  lasted 
eight  days  yet,  and  we  are  utterly  tired  of  it ;  perhaps 
you  feel  the  same.  There  are  thirteen  of  us  here  ;  if 
you  will  form  a  party  of  thirteen  against  us  nothing 
would  afford  myself  and  companions  greater  pleasure." 


42  SPOTLESS  AND  FEARLESS. 

Bayard  and  D'Oroze  looked  at  each  other.  "  My  Lord 
D'Oroze,"  said  Bayard,  "  what  do  you  think  of  it  ?" 

•'  I  know,"  said  D'Oroze,  "  what  answer  I  should  make, 
but  I  would  rather  hear  you  speak." 

"As  you  wish  it,"  replied  the  knight,  "I  will  answer." 
"  My  lord,"  said  Bayard  to  the  Spaniard,  "  my  compa- 
nion and  I  accept  your  proposition  with  much  pleasure  \ 
meet  us  this  day  week  at  two  miles  distant  from  here. 
Thirteen  of  us  will  be  there,  and  we  shall  see  which  side 
will  conquer." 

The  Spaniards  promised,  and  they  returned  to  their 
sides.  Bayard  and  his  friend  having  related  the  clial- 
lenge  and  named  the  rendezvous,  all  wished  to  be  of  the 
thirteen.  Conditions  of  the  fight  were  laid  down,  viz. 
— That  if  a  knight  lost  his  horse  he  was  not  to  fight ; 
that  he  who  passed  over  a  certain  boundary  should  be 
prisoner  :  that  the  night  should  terminate  the  combat ; 
and  if  there  remained  but  one  unhorsed  on  each  side  he 
should  take  back  his  companions  with  equal  honour  to 
either  side. 

This  being  agreed  on,  the  two  parties  met,  lance  in 
rest,  and  put  spurs  to  their  horses.  But  the  Spaniards, 
in  the  fight,  basely  attacked  the  horses  instead  of  the 
men,  and  with  such  success  that  eleven  of  them  were 
soon  dead  upon  the  field.  But  the  Spaniards'  horses  re- 
fused to  advance  over  the  dead  bodies,  which  served  Ba- 
yard and  his  friend  D'Oroze  as  a  rampart ;  for  they 
charged  the  Spaniards  boldly  and  frequently,  and,  when 
attacked  by  many,  retired  behind  the  rampart  of  dead 
horses,  so  that  in  the  end,  when  night  set  in,  and  they 
were  obliged  to  quit  the  field,  the  two  Frenchmen  were 
unanimously  proclaimed  victors. 

Some  time  after,  when  the  truce  was  ended,  Bayard 
heard  by  his  spies  that  a  treasurer   from  Naples  was 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  43 

about  to  carry  a  large  sum  of  money  to  Gonzalva,  and 
that  he  would  pass  at  a  few  miles  from  Monervine. 
Bayard,  resolved  to  lay  hands  on  the  man  and  his  trea- 
sure, set  out  two  hours  before  daybreak,  and  went, 
accompanied  only  by  twenty  men,  and  put  himself  in 
ambush  between  two  little  hills,  and  he  sent  Tardieu, 
one  of  his  men-at-arms,  in  another  direction  with 
twenty-five  Albanians,  so  that  if  the  treasurer  escaped 
one  he  should  be  taken  by  the  other.  At  seven  o'clock 
in  the  morning  the  knight's  spies  heard  the  noise  of 
horses,  and  came  to  announce  it  to  him.  He  was  so 
hidden  by  the  two  rocks  that  the  treasurer  and  his  es- 
cort passed  without  seeing  him,  and,  as  soon  as  they 
had  gone  by,  Bayard  and  his  company  fell  upon  them, 
crying,  "France!  France!  slay!  slay!  "  The  Spaniards, 
thinking  they  had  a  whole  army  at  their  back,  fled  to 
Barletta  without  looking  behind  them.  They  were 
pursued  until  the  treasurer  and  cashier  were  taken, 
when  15,000  ducats  were  found  in  their  cases.  Tardieu, 
arriving  just  at  this  time,  was  dazzled  by  the  glitter  of 
the  coin,  and  claimed  half  the  prize,  as  he  had  gone 
on  the  expedition,  but  Bayard,  who  loved  justice,  chose 
to  have  the  atfair  properly  settled  by  the  French  general, 
who  decided  that  the  prize  was  Bayard's  alone.  When 
Tardieu  saw  the  course  matters  were  taking,  he  made  a 
virtue  of  necessity  and  joined  in  the  laugh  against  him- 
self. Bayard,  with  his  usual  generosity,  gave  Tardieu 
half  the  large  sum  of  money,  and  distributed  the  whole 
of  the  remainder  amongst  the  soldiers.  He  then  set  the 
treasurer  free,  and  allowed  a  herald  to  accompany  him 
to  Barletta,  whither  he  wished  to  20. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


10 WARDS  the  end  of  the  war  of  which  we 
were  just  now  speakhig,  the  French  were  en- 
camped on  one  side  of  the  river  Garilliano  and 
the  Spaniards  on  the  other  side.  Now  it  must 
be  understood  that  if  there  were  brave  soldiers  on  the  one 
side,  so  there  were  on  the  other,  above  all,  the  famous 
Gonzalva  de  Cordova;  but  the  most  extraordinary  of 
them  was  Pedro  de  Pais,  who  was  not  three  feet  high, 
and  was  so  hump-backed  and  deformed  that  the  head  of 
his  horse,  when  you  were  in  front  of  him,  hid  him  from 
your  view.  But,  in  spite  of  his  deformity,  he  was  one 
of  the  boldest  and  most  enterprising  of  the  whole  army. 
One  day  he  took  it  into  his  head  that  he  would  give  the 
French  an  alarm,  and  for  that  purpose  took  with  him 
about  120  men-at-arms,  each  with  afoot  soldier  mounted 
behind  him,  armed  with  arquebuses,  and  these  passed 
the  Garilliano  by  a  ford  which  they  knew.  When  the 
French  saw  them,  they  thought  the  whole  of  the  Spanish 
army  had  come  to  attack  them ;  but  Bayard,  whose  quar- 
ters were  near  the  bridge,  soon  perceived  that  there 
were  not  200  Spaniards,  but  that  their  object  was  to  take 
possession  of  the  bridge,  which  would  have  been  certain 
ruin   to  the  French.     He  immediately   despatched  Le 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  45 

Basque  to  seek  help,  while  he  stood  alone  at  their  end  of 
the  bridge,  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  ;  as 
they  approached,  he  fell  upon  them  with  such  terrible 
fury  and  struck  such  vigorous  blows  that  he  knocked 
down  four  raen-at-arms  to  begin  with,  two  of  whom  fell 
into  the  water  and  were  never  seen  again.  The  Spaniards 
thought  they  were  fighting  a  devil  and  not  a  man  ;  in- 
censed by  the  loss  of  their  countrymen,  they  fell  upon 
him  with  blind  fury,  he  returning  their  blows  with  extra- 
ordinary courage  ;  but  he  must  undoubtedly  have  been 
overcome  by  numbers  if  Le  Basque  had  not  arrived 
with  200  men,  who  saved  the  bridge  and  chased 
the  Spaniards  a  good  mile  on  the  other  side.  They 
would  have  gone  further,  but  Bayard  perceived  a  body 
of  700  or  800  men  coming  to  assist  the  fugitives.  Think- 
ing  they  had  done  enough  for  one  day,  he  gave  the 
order  to  return,  himself  bringing  up  the  rear,  last  in 
retreat  as  he  was  always  first  in  attack.  As  the  troop 
was  marching  home  in  good  order,  it  was  again  attacked 
by  a  detachment  of  the  enemy.  Bayard's  horse  was 
much  fatigued,  and,  surrounded  as  he  was  by  thirty  or 
forty  men.  he  knew  it  was  useless  to  resist,  so  gave  him- 
self up  to  the  Spaniards.  His  companions,  who  had 
fought  their  way  to  the  bridge,  thought  he  was  amongst 
them  until  Pierre  de  Guiffrey  suddenly  cried  out, 
"  Comrades,  we  have  lost  Bayard.  I  vow  that  I  will 
have  news  of  him,  if  I  go  alone.  Shall  we  leave  the 
man  who  has  gained  us  so  much  glory  ?  He  is  either 
dead  or  a  prisoner."  There  was  great  confusion  at  this 
cry,  and  they  determined  to  return  and  seek  their 
leader.  They  soon  overtook  the  Spaniards,  and  called 
upon  them  to  turn  and  fight.  They  did  so,  and 
as  they  had  not  disarmed  Bayard,  he  joined  in  the 
fray,  and,  leaving  his  own  jaded  horse,  vaulted  upon  a 


46  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

splendid  charger  from  which  Salvador  Borgia  had  been 
thrown  by  the  lance  of  Le  Basque.  Finding  himself 
well-mounted,  the  knight  fought  desperately.  The 
Spaniards  learning  who  it  was  that  they  had  allowed 
to  escape,  lost  heart,  and  went  off  at  full  gallop  ;  the 
French  contented  themselves  with  watching  their  flight, 
only  too  happy  to  retain  with  them  their  true  guide  of 
honour,  Bayard.  They  regained  their  camp  without 
further  adventure,  where  they  long  talked  of  a  day 
made  so  extraordinary  by  curious  adventures,  and 
especially  by  the  exploits  of  the  Knight  Bayard. 

To  take  up  the  thread  of  our  history.  We  have  seen 
before  that  the  French  army  which  kept  the  kingdom 
of  Naples  had  been  obliged  to  abandon  it  through  the 
numerous  perfidies  of  Ferdinand,  King  of  Arragon,  who 
violated  all  the  treaties.  Alexander  YI.  was  dead,  and 
Julius  II,  of  the  house  of  la  Rouere,  occupied  the  holy 
see,  when  the  remnant  of  the  French  army  passed  through 
the  states  of  the  Church.  He  treated  the  French  as 
well  as  they  could  possibly  expect,  but  it  was  the  friend- 
ship of  the  fox,  which  he  made  pay  well  in  the  end, 
having  always  been  a  sworn  enemy  to  the  King  of 
France,  and  the  whole  French  nation. 

[1505.]  Louis  d'Ars  and  Bayard  remained  in  Spain 
after  the  departure  of  the  French  army,  and  contrived 
to  keep  several  places  there  in  spite  of  the  whole  Spanish 
army.  On  their  return  to  court  the  king  gave  Bayard 
a  place  in  the  household  until  he  had  a  company  ready 
to  place  under  his  orders. 

This  same  year  [1505]  was  marked  by  three  events. 
The  first  was  the  death  of  Jeanne  de  France,  first  wife 
of  the  king,  in  the  town  of  Bourges  ;  the  second  was 
the  severe  illness  of  the  king,  who  was  given  up  by  the 
doctors ;    this  circumstance  possibly  saved  his  life,  for 


LIFE   OF  BAYARD.  47 

he  recovered,  much  to  the  joj  of  his  people,  by  whom 
he  was  greatly  beloved.  The  third  event  was  the  death 
of  Frederic  of  Arragon,  King  of  Naples,  in  the  town 
of  Tours.  He  held  this  crown  from  his  ancestors,  who 
had  usurped  it ;  and  those  who  took  it  from  Louis  XII. 
had  no  more  right  to  it  than  Frederic. 

The  next  year  [1506-7]  was  signalized  by  the  deaths 
of  the  incomparable  Isabella  of  Castille,  wife  of  Fer- 
dinand, King  of  Arragon,  and  her  son-in-law,  Philip-le- 
Beau,  Archduke  of  Austria,  who  had  married  Jane,  the 
eldest  daughter  of  Isabella.  Ferdinand,  now  a  widower, 
married  again,  the  same  year,  Germaine  de  Foix,  niece 
of  Louis  XII.  and  sister  of  the  Duke  de  Xemours,  with 
whom  he  will  often  be  mentioned  in  this  history.  This 
princess,  although  she  had  been  brought  up  at  the  court 
of  France,  changed  her  principles  when  she  became  the 
wife  of  Ferdinand,  and  became  a  sworn  enemy  of  her 
country  and  the  royal  house. 

The  first  service  that  the  pope  rendered  to  the  king 
was,  by  all  the  means  in  his  power,  to  try  and  draw  the 
Genoese  from  their  allegiance.  The  populace,  animated 
against  the  nobles,  chased  them  from  the  town,  and 
afterwards  elected  for  doge  a  man  named  Paul  de  Novi. 
The  king  was  informed  of  these  proceedings,  and  deter- 
mined to  cross  the  mountains  in  person  without  delay, 
and  with  all  the  soldiers  that  the  occasion  seemed  to 
require. 

liayard  was  then  at  Lyons,  very  ill  with  intermittent 
fever,  and  from  the  consequences  of  a  wound  which  he 
had  formerly  received — a  sword  wound,  which  became 
ulcerated,  but  from  which  he  fortunately  recovered  in 
time.  Notwithstanding  his  indisposition,  Bayard  was  one 
of  the  first  to  be  ready  for  the  expedition.  The  armv 
was  so  quick  in  its  march  that  they  surprised  the  Genoese, 


48  SPOTLESS  AND  FEARLESS. 

who  had  no  time  to  wait  for  the  help  which  the  pope 
and  some  other  Italian  princes  were  to  have  sent  them ; 
they  nevertheless  prepared  for  defence,  and  the  French 
were  astonished  to  find,  at  the  top  of  the  last  mountain 
which  it  was  necessary  to  cross  to  arrive  at  the  town,  a 
newly-constructed  fort,  with  a  good  garrison  and  a  con- 
siderable muster  of  artillery.  Upon  this  the  king  held 
a  council  of  war,  and,  after  hearing  the  opinions  of  the 
rest,  took  the  advice  of  Bayard,  who  requested  per- 
mission to  go  with  about  120  known  brave  comrades 
and  see  what  they  were  doing  at  the  fort.  The  king 
begged  him  to  do  so,  and  they  set  out.  Bayard  first,  as 
always,  climbing  the  mountain  on  all-fours,  when  they 
reached  the  top  they  were  obliged  to  stop  and  take 
breath,  then  they  marched  to  the  bastion,  having  first 
to  overcome  several  parties  of  advanced  guards,  who 
gave  them  some  trouble,  and  finally  fled.  The  French 
wished  to  pursue  them,  but  Bayard  stopped  them, 
crying,  "  Do  not  follow  them,  comrades ;  go  straight  to 
the  fort."  They  tound  300  men  there,  who  defended 
themselves  pretty  well  for  a  time,  but  who  soon  took  to 
flight,  and  descended  the  mountain  precipitately,  leaving 
many  of  their  comrades  dead  on  the  ground.  So  Bayard 
was  master  of  the  fort,  the  taking  of  which  so  surprised 
the  Genoese  that  their  courage  failed  them,  and  they 
submitted  at  once  to  the  clemency  of  the  king.  Louis, 
having  entered  the  town,  made  them  pay  all  the  expenses 
of  the  war,  and  construct,  at  their  expense,  a  citadel 
which  commanded  the  town,  and  which  he  named 
Codifa.  He  had  Paul  de  Novi  and  one  of  the  nobles 
of  the  house  of  Justiani  beheaded.  He  deprived  the 
town  of  all  its  privileges,  gave  the  people  a  governor  in 
his  name,  to  whom  he  obliged  them  to  swear  allegiance, 
and  ordered  that  in  future  the  coin  should  be  marked 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  49 

with  his  arms  and  those  of  the  town,  after  which  he 
forgave  them  for  all  that  was  past. 

From  Genes  the  king  went  to  Savonne,  where  he  had 
an  interview  with  Ferdinand,  King  of  Arragon,  return- 
ing from  Naples  with  his  new  wife,  Germaine  de  Foix. 
She  did  not  attempt  to  disguise  her  change  of  opinions, 
but  treated  the  French  nobility  with  insolence,  not  even 
excepting  the  Duke  de  Nemours,  her  brother.  Her 
husband,  on  the  contrary,  treated  them  with  exceeding 
politeness,  and  complimented  the  king  upon  the  posses- 
sion of  two  such  distinguished  soldiers  as  Louis  d'Ars 
and  Bayard.  The  French  king,  on  his  side,  was  not 
less  friendly  to  the  great  captain  Gonzalvo,  one  of  the 
heroes  of  his  age  and  nation,  and  of  whose  virtues  Fer- 
dinand was  jealous.  He  went  expressly  to  Naples  to 
bring  back  Gonzalvo  with  him,  fearing  that,  as  he  was 
such  a  favourite  with  the  people,  they  would  transform 
him  from  viceroy  to  king.  After  his  return  from  Naples 
Gonzalvo  passed  a  sorrowful  life  in  retirement,  and 
when  he  died  was  sumptuously  buried  by  the  king  and 
mourned  by  the  nation.  After  a  few  days'  conferences 
between  Louis  and  Ferdinand  they  separated,  Ferdi- 
nand to  continue  his  route  to  Spain,  Louis  to  go  to 
Milan,  where  Trivulce,  lately  become  Marshal  of  France, 
gave  him  a  magnificent  entertainment,  and  for  three 
days  the  six  or  seven  hundi^ed  people  who  were  gathered 
together  enjoyed  the  recreation  of  feasts,  balls,  come- 
dies, and  various  other  kinds  of  amusements. 

In  the  following  year  (1508)  the  Emperor  Maximi- 
lian took  up  arms  against  the  Venetians,  who  were  allies 
of  Louis.  The  king  immediately  sent  Trivulce  with  a 
large  force  to  assist  them ;  but  the  Venetians,  knowing 
Maximilian's  rapacity  for  money,  offered  him  a  large 
sum  to  withdraw,  which  he  accepted,  much  to  the  dis- 


50  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

gust  of  Trivulce,  "who  was  annoyed  at  such  a  cowardly 
proceeding. 

The  pride  of  this  republic  had  become  so  unbearable 
that  a  league  was  entered  into,  called  the  League  of 
Cambrai — a  treaty  of  alliance,  offensive  and  defensive, 
entered  into  by  Louis  XII,  Maximilian,  the  Pope,  and 
the  King  of  Spain,  to  overthrow  the  republic  of  Venice. 
One  clause  of  the  treaty  was  to  the  effect  that  Louis 
should  be  in  Venice  forty  days  before  any  of  the  others. 
It  is  difficult  to  imagine  how  Louis  could  have  signed  a 
treaty  containing  such  a  clause,  but  he  did  so.  As  it 
turned  out,  he  had  all  the  success  and  honour  of  the 
affiiir,  but  his  allies  shared  the  profit  with  him. 

In  the  month  of  March,  1508,  the  king  reviewed  his 
troops  in  the  duchy  of  Milan.  He  appointed  celebrated 
captains  to  the  command  of  his  army;  to  Bayard  he 
gave  the  company  of  Captain  Chatelart,  who  had  re- 
cently died;  but  when  he  also  gave  him  the  command  of 
1000  infantry,  Bayard  begged  that  the  number  might  be 
reduced  to  500,  as  he  feared  1000  would  be  more  than 
he  could  manage.  The  king  acceded  to  his  request, 
and  at  the  end  of  March  he  and  all  the  other  captains 
were  at  Milan  ready  for  action.  The  king's  army  con- 
sisted of  30,000  men,  both  foot  and  horse.  The  Vene- 
tians had  32,000  soldiers  under  the  command  of  Nicolas 
des  Ursins,  Count  of  Petigliano. 

The  king,  on  arriving  at  Milan,  learnt  that  a  little 
town  on  the  Adda,  called  Trevi,  had  been  taken  by  the 
French  and  retaken  by  the  Venetians ;  that  the  Vene- 
tians had  burnt  the  town  to  punish  the  inhabitants  for 
surrendering  to  the  French,  and  afterwards  taken  pri- 
soners the  captain  Fontrailles  and  all  his  men,  besides 
several  other  captains  who  were  there.  The  king  was 
enraged  at  this,  and,  constructing  two  bridges  over  the 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  51 

Adda,  he  made  his  cavalry  pass  over  by  one  and  his  in- 
fantry by  the  other.  The  next  day  he  sacked  a  small 
town  called  Rivolta,  and  two  days  after,  on  the  14th  of 
May,  the  French  and  Venetians  met  at  Agnadel.  The 
Venetians  did  wonders,  but  the  French  gained  a  com- 
plete victory,  and  showed  surprising  bravery,  Bayard 
and  his  men  especially,  who  had  waded  through  a 
marsh  up  to  their  waists  in  water.  The  French  loss 
was  comparatively  small,  but  the  Venetians  lost  15,000 
men.  D'Alviano,  the  infantry  general,  was  taken  pri- 
soner, and  conducted  to  the  presence  of  the  king,  who, 
to  see  if  his  troops  were  on  the  alert,  had  a  false  alarm 
made  after  dinner,  and  hearing  the  clanking  of  arms 
and  other  sounds  indicative  of  active  preparation,  he 
asked  D'Alviano  what  it  could  be. 

"  Your  men  must  be  fitjhting  each  other,  I  should 
imagine,"  was  his  reply  ;  "  as  for  our  troops,  I  can  pro- 
mise you  they  will  not  soon  return." 

The  king  passed  two  days  on  the  battle-field,  during 
which  time  an  unhappy  castle  named  Cavatas  was  knocked 
to  bits  with  cannon  and  taken  in  two  hours.  Xo  one  was 
found  within  but  some  peasants,  who  were  immediately 
hanged  from  the  battlements.  This  example  so  intimidated 
the  others,  that  no  other  places  or  castles  resisted,  with 
the  exception  of  that  of  Pescara,  the  garrison  of  which  was 
severely  treated.  Amongst  others,  a  high  steward  of  the 
manor  and  his  son  were  found  there ;  they  offered  a 
large  ransom,  but  their  offers  and  dignity  availed  them 
nothing,  and  only  warranted  their  being  hanged  on  the 
first  tree.  They  had  surrendered  to  a  gentleman  named 
Le  Lorrain,  a  distinguished  officer  who  had  exchanged 
parole  with  them.  He  had  high  words  with  the  general 
(the  grand  master)  on  their  behalf,  but,  notwithstanding 
that,  he  could  not  save  their  lives. 


52  SPOTLESS    AND   FEARLESS. 

The  king  took  up  his  abode  at  Pescara,  after  he  had 
reduced  to  submission  the  places  it  was  his  intention  to 
overthrow — Cremona,  Creme,  Brescia,  Bergamo,  and  a 
great  number  of  others.  The  towns  of  Verona,  Vi- 
cenza,  and  Padua  delivered  their  keys  to  him  ;  he  sent 
them  to  the  emperor,  who  claimed  them.  To  the  Pope, 
who  had  used  him  so  ill,  he  gave  Ravenna,  Forli, 
Imola,  and  Faenza,  in  Lombardy,  Brindes  and  Otranto, 
in  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  He  did  not  get  much  re- 
turn for  his  generosity;  the  emperor  soon  lost  his  places, 
and  the  Pope  became  even  a  more  dangerous  enemy,  as 
we  shall  shortly  see. 

The  remnant  of  the  Venetian  army  fled  to  Trevison 
and  Friuli  without  stopping,  wrongly  imagining  that 
the  French  were  following  them,  at  which  the  emperor 
had  great  reason  to  be  satisfied. 

This  prince  had  promised  the  king  to  go  to  Pescara 
to  hold  a  conference  with  him.  It  was  agreed  between 
them  that  he  should  come  by  boat  down  the  lake  which 
waters  one  side  of  this  place,  and  that  he  should  have 
what  escort  seemed  good  to  him.  The  king  sent  the 
Cardinal  D'Amboise  to  Rouvray  to  receive  and  accom- 
pany him,  but  this  minister  could  not  persuade  him  to 
come.  The  cardinal  returned  to  the  king,  bringing  with 
him  the  Bishop  of  Goritz,  as  the  emperor's  ambassador, 
to  compliment  the  king  and  to  explain  the  reasons  why 
his  master  had  not  come  according  to  his  promise. 

A  little  while  after  the  king  returned  to  Milan,  at 
the  commencement  of  July.  Padua,  about  this  time, 
through  the  carelessness  of  Maximilian,  again  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Venetians.  He  had  only  left  800  lans- 
quenets to  defend  the  place,  too  small  a  number  for  a 
town  six  miles  in  circumference.  The  town  was  cleverly 
retaken  by  the  skill  of  two    noble  Venetians,  Andre 


LIFE  OF  BAYARD.  53 

Gritti  and  Luc  Malvezza,  who  had  always  had  sway  in 
this  place  where  the  Venetian  dominion  was  dear  to 
them,  on  account  of  the  exact  justice  the  government 
of  the  Doge  gives  to  its  subjects.  These  two  nobles,  in 
the  commencement  of  July,  which  is  in  Italy  the  season 
of  the  second  hay  harvest,  lay  in  ambush  at  a  crossbow- 
shot  from  the  town,  in  a  place  full  of  thick  trees,  which 
entirely  obstructed  the  view,  and  concealed  there  without 
trouble  400  men-at-arms  and  2000  foot-soldiers.  The  en- 
virons of  Padua  have  abundance  of  hay,  and  the  waggons 
to  carry  it  were  so  large  that  they  filled  the  gates  of  the 
town.  Upon  this  they  formed  a  design,  and  at  break 
of  day,  the  four  first  cartloads  having  entered,  they  had 
the  fifth  followed  by  six  knights,  each  with  a  foot-soldier 
behind  him  armed  with  an  arquebus,  and  amongst  them 
a  trumpet  to  sound  the  alarm,  when  the  time  should  be 
come. 

On  the  other  side,  the  lansquenets  which  composed 
the  garrison  were  very  vigilant.  They  kept  only  two 
gates  open,  and  thirty  men  on  guard  at  each.  The 
Venetian  seignory  had,  as  we  have  said,  many 
spies  in  the  town;  amongst  others,  a  gentleman 
named  Geraldo  Magurin,  who  was  in  the  secret,  and  was 
to  appear  in  arms  with  those  of  his  party  at  the  first 
sound  of  the  trumpet.  The  fifth  cartload  having  en- 
tered after  the  four  others,  the  six  men-at-arms,  who 
followed  it  closely,  began  shouting  "  Marco  !  Marco !  " 
The  foot-soldiers  behind  them  dismounted  and  fired  so 
skilfully  and  closely  that  each  one  killed  his  man.  The 
trumpet  sounded,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  Venetians 
fell  upon  them  at  once,  uttering  the  terrible  cries  of 
"  Marco !  Marco  !  Italy !  Italy !  "  They  were  seconded 
by  Magurin,  who  had  kept  ready  enough  men  to  muster 
in  an  instant  from  the  houses  more  than  2000  inhabit- 
ants armed  with  pikes  and  javelins. 


54  SPOTLESS  AND  FEARLESS. 

The  ]ansquenets,extremely  astonished  at  the  first  charge, 
placed  themselves  promptly  on  the  defence,  and  sounded 
the  alarm  ;  but,  when  they  saw  the  general  revolt,  and 
that  they  must  perish,  they  marched  to  the  great  square 
at  once  and  formed  a  square  battalion,  resolved  to  fight 
vigorously  and  to  sell  their  lives  dearly.  They  had 
hardly  formed  thus  when  they  saw  themselves  attacked 
on  two  or  three  sides  at  once.  Such  a  splendid  defence 
was  never  seen.  They  held  out  for  two  hours  without 
breaking.  In  the  end,  the  greater  number  conquered  ; 
they  were  broken  and  defeated  without  any  quarter. 
But,  in  revenge,  they  made  their  conquerors  pay  dearly 
for  their  defeat.  They  killed  more  than  1500  on  the 
spot,  both  inhabitants  and  assailants. 

Thus  the  town  returned  to  the  Doge  ;  and  the  Count 
of  Petigliano  having  entered,  repaired  and  fortified  it 
thoroughly,  knowing  of  what  importance  it  was  to  his 
masters. 

When  the  emperor  heard  of  the  revolt  of  Padua  he 
was  furious,  and  swore  to  be  avenged  and  go  in  person 
to  punish  the  offenders.  He  asked  Louis  for  500  men- 
at-arms  for  three  months.  Louis  readily  agreed,  and 
charged  the  brave  Chabannes  to  choose  that  number 
from  the  men  whose  valour  he  could  most  depend  upon, 
and  take  them  to  the  emperor.  Chabannes  was  de- 
lighted ;  war  was  his  element ;  and  as  he  left  the  gates 
of  the  castle  of  Milan,  he  met  Bayard  and  asked  him  to 
accompany  him.  Bayard  was  as  overjoyed  as  himself, 
and  readily  promised  to  do  so. 

These  two  great  men  gained  all  the  victories  they 
were  trying  for,  and  returned  with  great  pomp  to  Ve- 
rona, where  they  were  magnificently  received  by  the 
Bishop  of  Trent,  for  the  emperor.  They  remained  there 
two  days,  were  feasted  and  made  much  of  by  the  inha- 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  55 

bitants,  and  then  returned  to  Yicenza,  which  they  en- 
tered readily,  the  people  having  fled  as  soon  as  they 
heard  that  the  French  Avere  niarchinir  towards  them. 
They  remained  five  or  six  days  at  Yicenza,  awaiting 
news  of  the  emperor,  who,  they  said,  was  already  in  the 
country ;  but  he  did  not  arrive  till  the  commencement 
of  August,  when  he  brought  with  him  a  large  number  of 
troops,  which,  joined  to  the  original  French  army  and 
two  reinforcements  which  they  had  recently  received, 
made  a  considerable  army.  He  received  Chabannes 
with  much  pomp  at  the  camp,  near  the  town  of  Est.  If 
they  had  had  to  wait  for  him,  with  the  help  of  the  army 
he  had  brought  they  soon  made  up  for  loss  of  time.  He 
had  with  him  nearly  120  princes,  dukes,  counts,  or 
lords  of  the  first  German  families,  about  12,000  horses, 
and  500  or  600  lancers  of  Burgundy  and  Hainault,  and 
nearly  50,000  infantry.  Hippolite  d'Est,  the  Cardinal 
of  Ferrara,  came  to  join  the  emperor  in  the  name  of 
his  brother,  the  Duke  Alphonse  I,  and  brought  500 
horses,  3000  foot-soldiers,  and  twelve  pieces  of  artillery. 
The  Cardinal  of  Mantua  brought  nearly  the  same  num- 
ber; so  that  altogether  the  army  consisted  of  100,000 
men. 

The  first  encampment  of  the  emperor  w^as  at  eight 
miles  from  Padua,  near  the  palace  of  the  Queen  of  Cy- 
prus. AYhile  he  was  there,  another  reinforcement  of  1000 
or  1200  arrived,  all  picked  men  and  fit  for  war,  under  the 
generalship  of  Jacques  d'AIegre,  Lord  of  Mllaut,  well 
worthy  of  commanding  them.  It  was  there  that  the 
emperor  proposed  the  siege  of  Padua,  and  held  a  coun- 
cil of  war  to  fix  on  a  plan  of  operations.  By  this 
council  it  was  decided  that  the  French  soldiers,  with 
the  lansquenets  of  the  Prince  of  Anhalt,  as  the  best 
German  troop  in  the  army,  should  form  the  point :  but 


56  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

that,  before  all,  it  was  necessary  to  take  possession  of 
Montselles,  a  little  place  on  the  road  to  Padua  with  a 
strong  castle,  whose  Venetian  garrison  would  have  been 
able  to  hinder  the  march  of  the  troops,  and  still  more 
the  convoys  of  provisions  and  ammunition. 

On  the  morning  of  the  next  day  the  army  set  out 
and  arrived  near  Montselles,  which  gave  itself  up  at 
first,  being  utterly  defenceless  ;  but  the  castle,  which 
was  good  and  capable  of  holding  out  for  a  long  time, 
disturbed  the  generals.  However,  by  the  cowardice  of 
those  who  were  in  it,  they  were  soon  masters  of  it. 
They  began  to  beat  it  down,  and  they  had  hardly  com- 
menced the  breach,  when  the  alarm  was  sounded  for 
the  assault.  They  had  a  good  bowshot's  length  to  climb, 
but  the  French  adventurers  of  the  Captain  d'Alegre 
were  there  in  so  short  a  time  that  they  seemed  to  fly. 
The  garrison,  which  was  entirely  composed  of  rabble, 
made  a  show  of  resistance,  but  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
the  place  was  taken  and  all  were  massacred.  The  ad- 
venturers took  500  horses  besides  other  plunder.  The 
town  and  castle  were  given  back  to  the  Duke  of  Ferrara, 
who  reclaimed  them,  but  he  had  to  give  the  emperor 
30,000  ducats  for  them.  The  Cardinal  d'Est  took  pos- 
session of  it  for  his  brother,  and  placed  a  good  garrison 
there. 

The  emperor,  whom  we  left  in  his  camp  before  Mont- 
selles, had  no  sooner  given  up  this  place  to  i^s  rightful 
owner,  than  he  marched  straight  to  Padua,  and  ap- 
proached within  a  mile  of  it.  Besides  being  well  forti- 
fied, the  city  was  defended  by  the  Count  of  Petigliano,  a 
skilful  general,  who  had  with  him  1000  men-at-arms, 
12,000  infantry,  and  200  pieces  of  cannon,  so  that  rais- 
ing a  siege  was  an  important  matter. 

The  emperor  encamped  within  a  mile  of  the  walls, 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  57 

held  a  council  of  war  to  deliberate  on  which  side  he 
should  form  the  siege,  and  called  to  it  those  amongst  the 
French  whom  he  honoured  with  his  esteem  and  confi- 
dence. They  agreed  that  the  emperor  should  take  up 
his  position  near  the  gate  which  leads  to  Vicenza, 
having  the  French  with  him;  that  the  Cardinal  of 
Ferrara  should  be  at  another  gate  higher  up,  with  the 
Burgundy  and  Hainault  soldiers  and  10,000  lansque- 
nets ;  that  at  another  gate,  beyond  the  emperor's  quar- 
ters, the  Cardinal  of  Mantua  should  be  stationed,  with 
his  brother  John  and  the  lansquenets  of  the  Prince  of 
Anhalt,  in  order  that  in  case  of  need  these  divisions 
might  easily  obtain  help  from  the  main  body  of  the 
army. 

Bayard,  for  whom  the  most  perilous  tasks  were  al- 
ways reserved,  was  ordered  to  go  first,  accompanied  by 
the  young  Bussy  d'Amboise,  La  Cropte-Daillon,  La 
Clayette,  &c.  JSTow  there  was  a  high  road,  perfectly 
straight,  going  right  to  the  gate  of  Vicenza,  upon 
which,  at  a  distance  of  200  feet,  they  had  constructed 
four  large  barriers  furnished  with  men  and  firearms  ; 
and  on  each  side  this  road  was  bordered  with  wide 
and  deep  ditches,  according  to  the  custom  of  Italy,  in 
order  that  they  might  only  be  attacked  from  the  front. 
They  placed  artillerymen  on  the  walls  of  the  town 
which  overlooked  the  road,  and  which,  over  the  barriers, 
and  without  inconveniencing  those  who  guarded  them, 
fired  upon  the  French  a  hail-storm  of  cannon. 

In  the  meantime  Bayard  and  his  companions  attacked 
the  first  barrier,  which  was  well  defended  ;  neverthe- 
less, they  managed  to  force  it,  and  drove  the  enemy  to 
the  second.  If  the  fight  was  hot  at  the  first,  it  was  hot- 
ter still  at  the  second  barrier.  Young  Bussy  had  his 
arm  pierced  with  a  shot,  and  his  horse  killed  under- 


58  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

him ;  but  he  did  not  leave  the  party  on  that  account ; 
on  the  contrary,  he  became  more  furious.  At  this 
second  attack  the  Captain  d'Alegre  came  to  their  aid 
with  120  of  his  chosen  men,  who  were  more  like  lions 
than  men.  All  this  happened  at  mid-day,  so  that  it  was 
easy  to  see  who  did  his  duty  and  who  neglected  it. 
After  half  an  hour's  fighting,  the  second  barrier  was 
forced  and  taken,  and  the  enemy  were  chased  and  pur- 
sued so  closely  that  they  could  not  remain  at  the  third, 
and  were  happy  to  be  able  to  reach  the  fourth.  This 
was  at  a  stone's  throw  from  the  ramparts  of  the  town, 
and  guarded  by  1000  or  1200  men,  with  three  or  four 
falconets,  which  made  a  terrible  fire  upon  the  main 
road,  but  (incredible  fact)  only  killed  two  horses.  The 
fugitives,  who  had  joined  themselves  at  the  barrier  with 
those  who  guarded  it,  took  courage  under  shelter  of  the 
Avails  of  the  place,  and  the  attack  having  lasted  an  hour, 
Bayard  was  tired  of  such  a  lengthy  resistance,  and 
cried  to  his  men,  "  Comrades,  this  is  lasting  too  long ; 
let  us  dismount  and  force  the  barrier."  They  did  so, 
to  the  number  of  thirty  or  forty,  and,  with  visor  raised 
and  lance  lowered,  they  rushed  upon  the  Venetian 
guard.  Near  Bayard  fought  the  Prince  d'Anhalt,  Jean 
le  Picard,  and  the  Captain  Maulevrier,  who  all  fought 
furiously.  Bat  Bayard,  seeing  that  the  enemy  was 
momentarily  reinforced,  cried  out  a  second  time,  "Com- 
rades, they  shall  keep  us  here  as  long  as  they  like.  Let 
us  give  them  assault.  Follow  me,  all  of  you ;  sound 
trumpet."  He  himself  led  the  way  with  the  fury  of  a 
lion.  His  companions  seconded  him  so  well  that  the 
enemy  withdrew  a  pike's  length.  Then  Bayard,  without 
hesitation,  leapt  over  the  barrier,  shouting,  "Friends, 
they  are  ours!  let  us  go  on!"  Those  who  had  dis- 
mounted vaulted  after  him,  and  those  who  had  remained 


LIFE    OF    BATAED.  59 

on  horseback,  seeing  the  danger  in  wliich  their  comrades 
were, imitated  them  in  crying  "France!  France!  Empire! 
Empire  !  "  Then  the  attack  went  on  with  redoubled  force, 
and  was  such  that  the  enemy  left  the  place,  and  fled  in 
disorder  into  the  town.  Thus  the  four  barriers  were 
forced,  in  open  day,  to  the  great  glory  of  the  French, 
and  especially  of  our  hero,  to  whom  all  unanimously 
gave  the  honour.  This  expedition  over,  the  artillery 
was  immediately  brought  down  to  the  bank  of  the  moat, 
and  the  soldiers  were  so  quartered  that  they  formed 
three  camps,  as  had  been  previously  arranged.  The 
army  and  its  followers  were  so  numerous  that  they 
covered  an  area  of  more  than  four  miles,  in  a  country 
so  abundant  in  provisions,  corn,  wine,  and  hay,  and 
everything  necessary  for  both  men  and  horses,  that  at 
the  raising  of  the  siege,  which  lasted  about  two  months 
and  a  half,  they  burnt  the  worth  of  100,000  ducats  which 
they  could  not  carry  away. 

The  day  after  the  taking  of  the  barriers  the  artillery 
began  their  work,  and  commenced  their  terrible  fire, 
which  the  town  returned  with  usury.  They  made  three 
breaches,  which  were  speedily  converted  into  one,  and 
consequently  more  than  large  enough  for  an  assault. 

While  the  artillery  were  at  work,  one  of  the  emperor's 
cannoneers  was  discovered  firing  against  the  camp,  in- 
stead of  the  town.  His  trial  was  soon  finished.  He  was 
placed  in  a  mortar  instead  of  a  bomb,  and  blown  to 
bits  towards  the  town.  They  accused  one  of  the  em- 
peror's generals  of  this  treason,  a  Greek,  named  Constan- 
tine,  who  governed  the  emperor,  and  was  the  cause 
of  his  committing  great  faults  ;  yet  he  was  his  fa- 
vourite. They  suspected  him  of  having  corrupted  this 
man,  and  even  of  being  concerned  in  a  plot  with  the 
Count  of  Petigliano,  giving  him  news  ^f  everything  that 


6o  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

happened  in  the  emperor's  camp.  Chabannes  reproached 
him  publicly,  treated  him  as  a  traitor  and  a  coward,  and 
challenged  him  to  fight ;  but  the  other  refused,  saying 
his  conscience  would  not  allow  it.  The  emperor,  to 
prevent  ill  consequences,  reconciled  them. 

The  Count  of  Petigliano,  whether  he  had  been  told  or 
not,  had  fortified  his  place  so  well,  that  500,000  men 
could  not  carry  it.  He  had  made  behind  the  breach,  a 
moat,  with  ditches  twenty  feet  deep  and  as  many  wide, 
where  he  had  put  several  layers  of  fagots  and  dry  wood, 
all  covered  with  gunpowder,  and  at  a  hundred  steps 
apart  he  had  raised  a  rampart  with  artillery,  which  com- 
manded the  whole  length  of  the  moat.  Beside  this  in- 
surmountable trench  was  a  beautiful  esplanade,  where 
the  Venetian  army,  cavalry  and  infantry,  could  range 
themselves  in  battle,  to  the  number  of  20,000  men,  and 
behind  this  esplanade  he  had  raised  platforms,  furnished 
with  from  twenty  to  thirty  pieces  of  cannon  each,  pointed 
to  the  breach  over  the  heads  of  the  garrison.  When 
some  French  oflicers  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Count 
of  Petigliano,  made  prisoner  in  skirmishes,  and  who  ran- 
somed themselves,  they  made  no  difficulty  of  letting 
them  see  these  entrenchments,  that  they  should  give  an 
account  of  them  to  their  generals,  especially  to  Cha- 
bannes, and  inform  him  of  the  certain  danger  of  hazard- 
ing the  assault.  "  For,"  he  said  to  them  on  taking  leave, 
"  I  hope  that  the  republic  will  get  sooner  or  later  into 
the  good  graces  of  the  King  of  France,  and  if  it  were 
not  for  the  consideration  that  I  have  for  your  nation, 
and  those  who  are  with  the  emperor,  I  assure  you  that 
I  would  make  him  raise  the  siege  to-morrow."  All  that 
was  reported  to  the  French  generals,  but  the  king, 
having  given  them  to  the  emperor  for  auxiliaries,  they 
would  not  take  anything  upon  themselves.     Before  we 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  6i 

relate  what  the  emperor  intended  to  do,  we  may  note 
two  adventures  that  befel  our  hero. 

During  the  siege  of  Padua,  the  besieged  frequently 
inconvenienced  the  emperor  by  their  attacks.  The  gar- 
rison of  Trevisa,  another  good  place  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  miles  from  there,  served  him  the  same.  It  was 
commanded  by  the  Duke  of  Malvezze,  an  excellent 
captain,  and  by  other  officers.  This  commander  did 
not  fail  to  give  the  alert  to  the  imperial  camp  two  or 
three  times  a  week,  and  when  he  found  an  occasion,  he 
profited  by  it ;  if,  on  the  contrary,  he  found  resistance, 
he  retired.  He  continued  this  manoeuvre  a  long  time, 
but  so  wisely,  that  he  never  lost  a  single  one  of  his  men. 
Bayard  was  tired  of  this,  and  said  to  two  of  his  parti- 
cular friends,  with  whom  he  lodged.  La  Cropte-Daillon 
and  La  Clayette,  "This  Captain  Malvezze,"  said  he,  "is 
too  much  talked  about.  I  am  sorry  he  does  not  know 
what  sort  of  men  we  are.  If  you  will  second  me,  we 
will  look  for  him  to-morrow,  and  as  he  has  not  appeared 
for  two  days,  I  do  not  despair  of  finding  him," 

Bayard  had  spies,  whom  he  paid  so  well  that  they 
would  not  ha%^  betrayed  him  at  the  peril  of  their  lives. 
One  of  them  had  informed  him  of  the  route  and  the 
forces  of  Malvezze.  Having  arranged  his  plans  upon 
this  information,  and  his  two  friends  having  consented 
to  join  him,  he  told  each  of  them  to  arm  thirty  brave 
men-at-arms,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning ;  and  "  I," 
added  he,  "  will  take  my  company  with  some  of  our  good 
companions.  Bonnet,  Mipont,  Cosse,  Brezon,  and  others, 
and  we  will  mount  in  the  strictest  silence.  Confide  in 
me,  I  have  a  guide  in  whom  I  can  trust."  At  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  the  month  of  September,  all 
were  on  horseback,  and  the  spy  walked  before,  escorted 
by  four  soldiers.     Bayard,  too  prudent  to  place  himself 


62  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

entirely  in  the  power  of  such  men  without  precaution, 
had  promised  him  a  large  reward  if  he  did  his  duty  ; 
but  in  case  of  treason,  the  four  soldiers  had  orders  to 
kill  him  with  their  poniards.  This  spy  served  him  well, 
and  led  the  company  for  about  ten  miles.  When  day 
broke,  they  found  tiiemselves  near  a  large  and  beautiful 
country  house,  an  extensive  garden,  and  a  park  sur- 
rounded by  walls.  The  spy  pointed  it  out  to  Bayard, 
and  assured  him  that  if  this  was  the  day  upon  which 
Captain  Malvezze  had  to  give  the  alarm  to  the  camp,  he 
would  necessarily  pass  there ;  that  as  this  castle  was 
abandoned  on  account  of  the  war,  it  was  easy  for  the 
soldiers  to  lie  in  ambush  there,  seeing  all,  but  unseen 
themselves.  The  advice  was  considered  good.  They 
entered  the  castle,  and  remained  for  two  hours,  without 
results.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  they  heard  a  great 
noise  of  horses,  which  was  just  what  they  had  been 
awaiting. 

Bayard  had  with  him  an  old  soldier,  named  IVtonart, 
an  experienced  warrior,  and  a  man  in  whom  he  could 
place  implicit  trust,  fie  had  placed  him  as  sentinel  in 
the  dove-cote  of  the  house,  to  examine  whom  and  how 
many  they  had  to  deal  with.  This  soldier  saw  from  a 
distance,  and  recognized  the  Captain  Malvezze,  with  his 
troop,  which  he  judged  to  consist  of  about  100  men- 
at-arms,  and  about  200  Albanians,  commanded  by  the 
Captain  Scanderbeg,  all  well  mounted,  and  with  the  air 
of  men  ready  for  any  tiling.  This  troop  having  passed 
the  French  anibuscade  about  a  bow-shot,  the  sentinel 
went  down,  and  made  his  report,  at  which  everyone  was 
pleased.  Then  Bayard  ordered  them  to  harness  their 
horses,  which  each  one  did  himself,  because  they  had 
no  grooms  with  them.  Then  he  said  to  his  company : 
"  Friends,  it  is  ten  years  since  such  a  good  adventure 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  63 

came  in  our  wav,  and  if  each  of  U5  do  his  diitv,  the 
number  ought  not  to  astonish  us ;  they  are  two  against 
one,  but  that  is  very  trilling.  Let  us  set  out  immedi- 
ately." All  having  answered,  **  Let  us  go !  let  us  set 
out!"  the  gate  was  opene«l,  and  they  galloped  briskly 
af^er  their  enemies.  After  baring  marched  a  mile,  they 
discovered  them  on  the  high  road,  and  Bayard  ordered 
the  trumpet  to  sound.  The  Venetians,  much  astonished 
at  hearing  the  trumpet,  thought  it  must  be  some  of  their 
own  men  coming  to  join  them.  Nevertheless,  they 
waited  to  know,  and  were  much  deceived.  To  their 
surprise  was  joined  the  fear  of  finding  themselves  shut  in 
between  the  advancing  enemy  and  the  emperor's  camp, 
without  any  possible  means  of  escape  :  but  they  took 
courage  again  when  they  saw  the  few  men  approaching. 
The  Captain  Malvezze  encouraged  his  men,  exhorted 
them  to  do  well,  because  they  must  conquer  or  perish; 
that  there  remained  no  means  of  escape,  the  road  being 
bordered  by  fosses  so  deep  and  wiile  that  no  knight 
would  have  the  boldness  to  jump  ihem.  Afterwards, 
he  had  the  trumpet  sounded,  and  the  French  trumpet 
answered.  Wlien  they  were  a  bow-shot  the  one  from 
the  other,  they  began  to  charge,  the  French  crying, 
'*  France  I  France  I  Empire!  Empire!"  and  the  Spa- 
niards, "  Marco  !  Marco!"  The  first  charge  was  severe. 
A  great  number  were  unsaddled  The  Captain  Bonnet 
pierced  a  gendarme  through  and  through  with  one  stroke 
of  his  lance,  and  on  both  sides  the  fight  was  very  des- 
perate. The  Albanians  left  their  soldiers  with  the 
French,  and,  thinking  to  surprise  them  from  behind,  they 
went  off  the  high  road.  Bayard  perceived  this,  and 
said  to  La  Cropte-Daillon,  "  Keep  your  eye  upon  them, 
so  that  they  do  not  shut  us  in.  I  will  undertake 
those  who  are  before  us."     La  Cropte  did  so,  and  when 


64  SPOl'LESS    ASIJ    FEARLESS. 

the  Albanians  thought  to  fall  upon  the  French,  they 
were  so  well  received  that  a  dozen  of  them  were  left  on 
the  field,  and  the  rest  took  to  flight,  and  departed  as  fast 
as  their  legs  could  carry  them.  La  Cropte  did  not 
pursue  them.  lie  returned  to  the  main  body  ;  but  the 
action  was  finished,  the  Venetians  were  conquered,  and 
the  victors  were  already  seizing  their  prisoners.  The 
Captain  Malvezze,  with  twenty  or  thirty  of  the  best 
mounted,  crossed  the  moat,  and  returned  whence  they 
came.  The  French  did  not  pursue  them  ;  their  horses 
went  too  fast,  owing  to  the  vigorous  spurring  of  their 
masters. 

The  French  began  the  retreat  with  more  prisoners 
than  men  ;  but  they  deprived  them  of  their  swords,  and 
made  them  march  in  the  midst,  and  in  this  manner  they 
reached  the  camp.  Just  at  this  juncture  the  emperor 
was  walking  with  some  of  his  courtiers ;  and  perceiving 
a  thick  cloud  of  dust,  he  sent  a  French  officer,  Louis  de 
Peschin,  to  learn  the  meaning  of  it.  This  officer  told  him 
that  the  captains  Bayard,  La  Cropte,  and  La  Clayette, 
had  returned  from  performing  the  boldest  stroke  that 
the  last  100  years  had  witnessed.  The  emperor  could 
not  conceal  his  joy.  He  visited  the  troop,  and  com- 
plimented them  generally,  and  he  congratulated  each 
captain  upon  such  a  day  ;  and  finally,  addressing  him- 
self to  Bayard,  he  said,  "  Knight,  the  king,  my  brother 
and  your  master,  is  proud  and  happy  to  have  such  a 
man  as  you  in  his  service.  I  wish  I  had  a  dozen  like 
you,  if  they  cost  me  100,000  florins  a  year." 


CHAPTER  VII. 


^0   previous   expedition   ever  made  so  much 
stir  as  this,  and  no  captain  ever  got  so  much 
honour  as  Bajard;  but,  with  his  accustomed 
s^  modesty,    he    attributed    the   glory  to    his 
friends  and  soldiers,  and  never  to  himself. 

A  few  days  after  this  action,  he  learnt  from  his  spies 
that  Captain  Scanderbeg,  with  his  Albanians  and  some 
other  horsemen,  had  retired  into  the  Castle  of  Bassano, 
and  that  from  there  they  made  raids  upon  those  who 
came  to  the  camp,  and  upon  the  foot-soldiers  who  were 
returning  to  Germany  with  their  booty  and  horses  that 
they  had  taken  from  the  enemy ;  and  that  in  a  few  days 
even  they  had  defeated  more  than  200,  and  retaken  from 
them  four  or  five  hundred  oxen  or  cows,  which  they 
had  with  them  in  the  castle  ;  "and  if  you  like,"  added 
the  spy,  "I  can  take  you  to  a  defile  at  the  foot  of  a 
mountain  where  they  will  fall  into  your  hands."  Bayard, 
who  had  always  found  this  man  faithful,  and  had  always 
paid  him  well,  resolved  to  follow  him,  without  informing 
any  one  of  his  intention,  feeling  certain  that  with  his 
thirty  men-at-arms,  his  company  of  archers,  and  ten  or 
twelve  gentlemen  who  were  attached  to  him,  and  who 
served  as  volunteers  simply  to  learn  the  art  of  war  from 
him,  Li  could  easily  defeat  200  light-horse  Albanians, 

F 


66  SPOTLESS    AXD    FEARLESS. 

who  had  for  a  chief  Renault  Contavini,  a  noble  Venetian, 
a  native  of  Padua.  lie  informed  his  soldiers  and  friends 
of  his  plan,  who  were  charmed  with  it.  Everything 
being  ready,  they  set  out  an  hour  before  daybreak,  one 
Saturday  in  the  month  of  September,  and  travelled 
fifteen  miles  with  their  spy,  before  arriving  at  the  defile, 
where  they  were  fortunate  enough  to  arrive  without 
being  seen.  They  ambuscaded  themselves  at  a  cannon- 
shot  from  the  castle,  and  a  moment  afterwards  they 
heard  a  trumpet,  which  from  the  castle  sounded  "  To 
horse."  Bayard,  very  pleased  with  his  expedition,  asked 
the  spy  what  road  he  thought  the  Albanians  would  take. 
He  replied,  "  that  whatever  road  they  took,  they  must 
necessarily  pass  a  little  wooden  bridge,  which  was  at  a 
mile  from  there,  and  which  two  men  could  easily  guard  ; 
and  when  they  have  passed,"  added  he,  "  send  some  of 
your  men  to  seize  the  bridge,  so  that  they  cannot  return, 
and  I  will  conduct  you  by  a  gorge  which  I  know  of  in 
the  mountains  to  a  plain  near  the  palace  of  the  Queen 
of  Cyprus,  where  you  will  surely  meet  them."  It  was 
then  merely  a  question  as  to  who  should  guard  the 
bridge.  The  Lord  of  Bonnet  said,  "  Captain,  if  you  have 
no  objection,  Mipont  and  I  will  guard  the  bridge,  with 
as  many  men  as  you  shall  see  fit  to  give  us."  Bayard 
consented,  and  gave  them  six  men-at-arms,  and  ten  or 
twelve  archers. 

"Whilst  they  were  making  these  arrangements,  they 
heard  the  noise  of  the  Albanian  troop  coming  down 
from  the  castle,  as  if  they  were  going  to  a  wedding, 
reckoning  upon  making  some  good  capture,  according  to 
custom  ;  but  they  had  reckoned  too  surely  this  time. 

They  let  them  pass  the  bridge,  and  immediately 
Bonnet  and  his  companions  seized  it,  whilst  Bayard  and 
his  men  followed  the  spy  into  the  defile  of  the  mountain. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  67 

They  were  so  well  conducted  that  in  less  than  half  an 
hour  they  found  themselves  in  a  plain  where  they  would 
have  seen  a  knight  at  6,000  steps.  Then  they  saw,  at 
something  more  than  a  cannon-shot  from  them,  their 
enemies,  who  were  taking  the  road  to  Yicenza,  where 
they  reckoned  upon  an  encounter  with  the  enemy. 
Bayard  ordered  his  standard-bearer,  the  bastard  Du 
Fay,  to  take  twenty  men,  and  to  go  and  skirmish,  to 
engage  them  in  action,  and  then  to  fly,  as  if  frightened 
at  so  large  a  number.  "  Bring  them  here,"  said  he,  "  I 
await  you  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and  you  shall  see 
some  fine  sport."  Du  Fay  did  not  wait  to  say  more  ; 
he  saw  the  whole  plan  at  a  glance.  He  then  went  near 
enough  to  the  enemies  to  be  recognized  by  his  white 
crosses.  Then  Scanderbeg  and  his  men,  overjoyed  at 
the  meeting,  began  the  charge,  crying  "Marco!"  Du 
Fay,  pretending  great  fear,  fled  with  all  his  might,  ac- 
companied by  his  men,  towards  the  mountain,  and  were 
pursued  so  hotly  that  the  enemies  precipitated  them- 
selves into  the  ambuscade  of  Bayard,  who  awaited  them 
fully  prepared.  He  immediately  appeared  with  his  men, 
who,  like  so  many  lions,  fell  upon  the  enemy,  crying 
"Empire!  France!"  and  at  the  first  shock  they  un- 
saddled more  than  thirty  men.  The  Albanians  and  the 
crossbowmen  kept  up  some  time,  but  finally  they 
galloped  off  in  the  direction  of  the  bridge  by  which  they 
had  crossed  an  hour  previously.  They  were  so  well- 
mounted  that  Bayard  would  have  lost  his  prey  if  the 
bridge  had  not  been  guarded  by  Bonnet,  Mipont,  and 
their  men,  who  hindered  their  crossing  by  it.  This 
second  surprise  put  Scanderbeg  under  the  necessity  of 
fighting  or  flying.  The  greater  number  adopted  the 
latter  plan  :  but  they  were  so  well  followed  that  they 
took  from  them  two  captains,  thirty  crossbowmen,  and 


68  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

sixty    Albanians.      The    rest   escaped   across    country 
to  Trevisa. 

A  few  days  before,  Bayard  had  received  as  a  cadet 
into  his  company  a  young  gentleman  of  Dauphiny, 
named  Guignes  GeofT'rey,  son  of  the  Lord  of  Bou- 
tieres ;  he  was  between  sixteen  and  seventeen  years 
f)ld  ;  and,  being  descended  from  brave  ancestors,  he  was 
already  capable  of  walking  in  their  steps.  He  was  in 
this  expedition  of  Bayard's,  and  he  gave  good  promise 
of  what  he  would  do  in  the  future.  Having  seen  the 
standard-bearer  of  Contarini  leap  a  ditch  and  take  to 
flight  during  the  action,  he  vaulted  after  him  at  the  risk 
of  breaking  his  neck,  and  soon  reached  him.  He  gave 
him  such  a  sudden  and  powerful  blow  with  his  lance 
that  he  shivered  it  to  pieces,  and  upset  the  fugitive ; 
then,  taking  his  sword  in  his  hand,  he  cried,  "  Yield 
yourself,  sir  ensign,  or  I  will  kill  you."  Preferring  the 
former  to  the  latter  course,  the  ensign  gave  his  sword 
and  flag  into  the  boy's  hands.  Geoflrey,  more  overjoyed 
than  if  he  had  found  his  weight  in  gold,  made  him  re- 
mount his  horse,  and  march  before  him  to  the  place 
where  he  had  left  Bayard.  He  arrived  as  they  were 
sounding  retreat,  and  saw  so  many  prisoners  that  he  was 
embarrassed.  Bonnet  was  the  first  who  perceived  him, 
and  who  showed  him  to  the  knight,  returning  with  his 
prisoner  and  flag.  Bayard  never  felt  more  pleased  in 
his  life.  "  Have  you  taken  this  standard-bearer  and 
his  flag?"  he  asked.  "'Yes,  sir,"  replied  Geoffrey; 
"  God  has  given  me  that  favour ;  but  I  assure  you,  if 
he  had  not  given  himself  up,  I  should  have  killed  him." 
This  speech  doubled  the  pleasure  of  Bayard  and  the 
whole  assembled  company,  and  he  said  to  him,  "  Bou- 
tieres,  my  dear  friend,  you  have  begun  well ;  God  grant 
that  you  may  continue ; "  which  the  result  verified,  for 
he  became  an  excellent  officer. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  69 

Our  hero,  not  content  with  the  expedition  just  re- 
corded, still  wished  to  make  himself  master  of  the 
castle  of  Bassano.  He  spoke  of  it  to  his  companions, 
Bonnet,  Mipont,  and  Pierrepont,  his  nephew  and  lieu- 
tenant, and  other  officers  who  had  followed  him.  "For," 
said  he,  "  they  have  that  within  that  will  enrich  our 
men."  "  That  is  more  easily  said  than  done,"  they 
replied.  "  Remember  the  castle  is  strong,  and  we  have 
no  artillery."  ''.For  my  part,"  answered  Bayard,  "I 
intend  to  have  it  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour."  He  then 
had  the  two  Venetian  Captains,  Contarini  and  Scander- 
beg  brought  before  him,  and  said  to  them:  "Gentlemen, 
I  know  it  is  in  your  power  to  put  me  in  instant  posses- 
sion of  the  castle  ;  I  give  you  your  choice  to  do  so,  or  to 
have  your  heads  cut  off  before  its  gates  presently." 
They  promised  to  do  their  best ;  and  indeed,  he  who 
commanded  there,  a  nephew  of  Scanderbeg's,  gave  it  up 
as  soon  as  his  uncle  had  asked  him. 

They  found  there  more  than  five  hundred  oxen  and 
cows,  and  a  quantity  of  plunder  ;  the  whole  was  equally 
distributed  among  the  victorious  troops,  who  were  greatly 
enriched  by  it.  The  cattle  were  led  to  Vicenza,  where 
each  one  received  the  value  of  his  share  in  money.  They 
found  in  the  castle  plenty  of  provisions  for  their  horses, 
and  sufficient  to  make  good  cheer  for  themselves.  They 
made  their  two  prisoners  sit  down  to  table  with  them  ; 
and  at  the  end  of  the  meal  young  Boutieres  entered  to 
salute  his  captain,  and  to  present  his  prisoner,  who  was 
a  man  of  thirty  years,  twice  as  big  as  he  was. 

At  the  sight  of  this  disproportion  Bavard  could  not 
help  laughing ;  then,  addressing  himself  to  the  two 
Venetians:  "Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "here  is  a  child  who 
only  six  days  ago  was  a  page,  and  who  will  not  have  a 
beard  for  three  years  ;  nevertheless  he  has  taken  your 
tiiig  ;  what  do  you  say  to  it  ?      I  don't  know  what  your 


70  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

ofBcers  think  of  it,  but  we  French  are  less  easily  over- 
come ;  it  requires  some  trouble  for  stronger  than  we 
to  wrest  our  flag  from  us." 

The  Venetian  ensign  felt  how  humiliating  this  plea- 
santry was  to  him,  and  he  replied,  in  his  own  tongue, 
"  My  faith,  captain,  if  I  gave  myself  up,  it  was  not 
because  I  was  afraid  of  the  boy  who  took  me  ;  he  could 
not  have  made  me  prisoner  ;  but  I  could  not  resist  the 
whole  troop." 

Bayard  at  this  answer  looked  at  Boutieres,  and  said 
to  him,  "  Do  you  hear  what  your  prisoner  has  just  said  ?" 
The  young  man,  cut  to  the  quick,  reddened  with  vexa- 
tion, and  begged  the  knight  to  grant  him  a  favour  he 
had  to  ask.  Having  obtained  it,  he  said,  "  Sir,  it  is  that 
you  will  allow  me  to  give  back  his  arms  and  horse  to 
this  man,  and  to  get  upon  my  own  ;  we  will  go  together 
to  the  meadow  and  fight  once  more ;  if  he  conquers  I 
give  him  back  his  ransom,  but  if  I  am  victorious  I  swear 
to  him  before  God  that  I  will  kill  him." 

"  Certainly,  I  grant  you  what  you  wish,"  cried  Bayard, 
joyfully  ;  but  the  Venetian  would  not  run  the  risk,  and 
shamefully  refused  the  challenge  ;  thus  Boutieres  had 
the  honour  of  a  second  victory. 

After  they  had  dined,  the  French  resumed  their 
homeward  route,  taking  with  them  their  prisoners.  They 
were  received  as  well  as  they  had  been  on  the  former 
occasion.  Bayard  was  congratulated  by  the  emperor 
himself;  but  young  Boutieres  carried  off  the  palm,  both 
for  the  capture  of  the  Venetian  ensign,  and  the  offer  he 
had  made  to  givehimhis  revenge.  Chabannes  especially 
could  not  sufficiently  admire  him,  and  told  him  that  he 
was  a  worthy  representative  of  the  house  of  Geoffrey, 
which  he  had  known  a  long  time,  and  which  had  always 
been  fruitful  in  great  men. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  71 

"We  must  now  return  to  the  siege  of  Padua,  where  we 
left  the  emperor  resolved  to  commence  the  assault.  This 
prince,  seeing  the  success  of  the  artillery,  and  that  one 
of  the  three  breaches  was  500  feet  wide,  reproached 
himself  for  his  weakness,  in  not  having  commenced 
sooner,  considering  the  number  and  strength  of  his  army. 
He  had  hardly  returned  to  his  quarters  with  the  lords 
and  princes  of  his  court,  when  he  sent  for  a  secretary  to 
whom  he  dictated  the  following  letter  to  Chabannes, 
who  was  lodged  quite  near  to  him  : — 

"My  cousin,  I  have  been  this  morning  to  see  the 
breach  of  the  town,  which  I  consider  easily  got  through 
by  him  who  wishes  to  do  his  duty.  I  have  appointed 
the  assault  for  to-day.  I  therefore  pray  you  that  as 
soon  as  my  great  drum  sounds,  which  will  be  about  mid- 
day, you  shall  hold  ready  all  the  French  gentlemen 
under  your  command,  at  my  service,  by  the  order  of  my 
brother  the  King  of  France,  to  go  to  the  said  assault 
with  my  foot-soldiers,  and  I  hope,  with  God's  help,  that 
we  shall  carry  the  place." 

The  same  secretary  who  had  written  the  letter  was 
ordered  to  carry  it  to  Chabannes,  who  considered  the 
emperor's  proposition  very  extraordinary ;  however,  he 
contented  himself  with  replying  to  the  secretary  that  he 
was  exceedingly  surprised  that  the  emperor  had  not 
done  his  brother  officers  and  himself  the  honour  of  call- 
ing them  together  to  deliberate  upon  an  affair  of  such 
importance,  and  he  also  charged  him  to  tell  his  imperial 
majesty,  that  he  would  call  the  officers  together  and 
communicate  to  them  the  contents  of  his  letter,  and  he 
had  no  doubt  that  they  would  be  ready  to  obey  him. 

When  the  secretary  had  departed,  Chabannes  sent 
word  to  all  the  captains  to  assemble  themselves  at  his 
quarters.      The    report    had    already   spread    that  the 


72  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

assault  would  be  made  on  that  day,  and  it  was  a  curious 
thing  to  see  each  soldier  anxious  to  confess  himself,  pny- 
ing  for  his  turn  with  a  good  heavy  sum  of  gold,  some  of 
the  men  even  trusting  their  purses  to  the  priests  who 
confessed  them.  The  historian  adds  that  there  was 
never  so  much  money  before  seen  with  an  army,  and  he 
lias  no  doubt  that  the  reverend  gentlemen  would  not 
have  been  displeased  if  they  who  entrusted  their  money 
to  them  had  fallen  in  the  assault  and  remained  in  the 
breach.  Besides  the  abundance  of  specie,  that  of  provi- 
sions was  not  less ;  and  not  a  day  passed  but  three  or 
four  hundred  lansquenets  deserted,  taking  away  to  their 
country  all  sorts  of  animals,  furniture,  clothes,  and 
other  articles  ;  so  much  so  that  they  valued  the  plunder 
taken  in  the  domain  of  Padua  at  two  million  crowns, 
including  the  cost  of  burnt  palaces  and  houses. 

When  all  the  captains  had  arrived,  Chabannes  or- 
dered dinner  to  be  served,  "  Because,"  said  he,  laughing, 
"  I  have  something  to  say  to  you  presently  which  might 
tak-e  away  your  appetites."  He  well  knew  what  sort  of 
men  he  was  talking  to,  and  that  in  the  whole  company 
there  was  not  one  man  who  was  not  a  hero,  especially 
Bayard,  whose  right  to  that  title  no  one  disputed.  The 
meal  ended,  all  but  the  French  officers  went  out.  Then 
Chabannes  read  them  the  emperor's  letter,  and  read  it 
again  so  that  they  might  thoroughly  understand  it.  The 
surprise  was  so  great  that  they  looked  at  each  other, 
each  apparently  expecting  the  other  to  speak.  Hum- 
bercourt  broke  silence,  and  said,  laughingly,  that  the 
Lord  of  Chabannes  could  send  word  to  the  emperor  that 
they  were  all  disposed  to  obey  him.  "  I  begin,"  said  he, 
"  to  get  tired  of  this ;  moreover  we're  getting  to  the 
bottom  of  our  good  wine." 

They  smiled  at  this  sally,  and  everyone  said  his  say. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  73 

agreeing  with  Humbercourt.  Bayard  alone  said  nothing, 
and  seemed  absent-minded,  sitting  still  and  picking  his 
teeth. 

"  What  do  you  say,  O  Hercules  of  France  ?"  Chabannes 
asked,  good  humouredly,  "  is  this  a  time  for  picking 
teeth?    What  answer  shall  we  make  to  the  emperor?" 

Bayard,  who  never  lost  his  good  humour,  replied  in  the 
same  tone,  "  If  we  all  wish  to  follow  the  advice  of  the 
Lord  D' Humbercourt,  we  have  only  to  go  straight  to  the 
breach ;  but  as  it  is  not  the  business  of  a  man-at-arms 
to  fight  on  foot,  I  could  willingly  dispense  with  the  honour. 
In  the  meantime,  I  will  tell  you  my  opinion  upon  the 
subject,  as  you  wish  to  know.  The  emperor  commands 
you  to  make  foot-soldiers  of  all  the  French  gentlemen, 
that  they  may  go  to  the  breach  with  the  lansquenets  :  as 
for  "me,  although  I  have  neither  wealth  nor  lordship,  t 
have  the  honour  of  beinor  a  gentleman.  I  do  not  com- 
pare  myself  to  you,  my  lords,  who  are  all  rich  and 
of  great  houses,  as  nearly  all  my  company  are ;  but  I 
don't  know  what  the  emperor  is  thinking  of  in  wishing 
to  compromise  so  much  nobility  with  his  foot-soldiers, 
of  whom  one  is  a  shoemaker,  another  a  baker,  another  a 
tailor ;  and,  besides,  they  are  men  who  have  no  pre- 
viously gained  glory  to  recommend  them,  as  we  have ; 
begging  his  majesty's  pardon,  it  is  degrading  us  too 
much.  This,  my  lord,"  added  he,  "  is  what  I  think  you 
should  answer  : — You  have  assembled  your  captains 
together ;  they  are  determined  to  follow  his  orders,  as 
far  as  they  agree  with  those  of  the  king  their  master ; 
that  he  cannot  be  ignorant  that  the  king  has  none  but 
gentlemen  under  his  orders,  and  it  is  too  much  to  under- 
rate them  by  mixing  them  with  his  foot-soldiers  ;  but 
that  he  has  a  number  of  counts,  German  lords  and 
gentlemen,  that   he  can  put  on  foot  with  the  French 


74  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

men-at-arms,  to  whom  we  will  show  the  way ;  and  that 
after  that  he  can  send  his  lansquenets  to  get  a  taste  of 
it,  and  see  how  they  like  it." 

AVhen  he  had  finished  this  speech,  every  one  agreed 
with  him,  without  exception.  The  answer  was  then  put 
into  shape,  and  sent  to  the  emperor,  who  appeared 
pleased  with  it.  Immediately  he  had  trumpets  and 
drums  sounded  to  assemble  the  princes,  captains,  and 
lords  of  his  court  and  his  army,  as  well  of  Germany 
as  of  Burgundy  and  Flanders.  He  declared  to  them 
that  he  was  resolved  to  give  the  assault  in  an  hour ; 
that  he  had  warned  the  French  lords  and  captains  of  it, 
who  all  promised  to  do  their  duty,  but  had  begged  that 
the  German  gentlemen  should  go  with  them,  they  will- 
ingly marching  first  to  the  breach.  "  That  is  why," 
added  he,  "  I  entreat  you  all  in  my  power  to  accept  the 
part,  and  to  go  on  foot  with  them ;  and  I  hope,  at  the 
first  assault,  we  shall  carry  the  place." 

This  speech  finished,  murmurings  were  heard  amongst 
the  Germans  for  the  space  of  nearly  half  an  hour. 
Finally,  one  of  the  best  qualified,  deputed  to  speak 
for  the  rest,  told  the  emperor  that  their  duty  was  to 
fight  on  horseback,  like  gentlemen,  and  not  on  foot ; 
still  less  did  it  become  them  to  go  to  a  breach.  The 
emperor  could  scarcely  expect  any  other  answer,  and 
though  he  was  extremely  displeased,  he  hid  his  vexation, 
and  only  said  to  them,  "It  will  be  necessary,  then,  to 
consult  as  to  what  is  best  to  be  done."  He  immediately 
sent  for  a  gentleman  of  his  household,  named  Rocan- 
dolff,  who  was  ordinarily  charged  with  his  commissions 
for  the  generals,  and  who  was  as  often  with  them  as 
with  his  master,  and  said,  "  Go  from  me  to  my  cousin, 
the  Lord  of  La  Palisse ;  commend  me  to  him  and  all 
the  French  lords  with  him,  and  tell  him  that  there  will 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  75 

be  no  assault  to-day."  This  answer  having  been  taken 
to  Cbabannes,  everyone  disarmed  himself,  some  glad, 
others  sorry,  for  there  were  some  among  them,  says  the 
historian,^  who  had  reckoned  otherwise.  The  emperor 
showed  great  self-possession  in  disguising  from  his  no- 
bility the  vexation  he  felt  when  they  refused  the  service 
which  the  French  undertook,  but  he  was  not  the  less 
piqued. 


'  The  people  who  were  displeased  at  this  result  were  evi- 
dently the  reverend  depositaries  of  the  soldiers'  money, 
"Certes,"  adds  the  Loyal  Servant,  "the  priests  were  not  over- 
delighted,  they  being  obliged  to  restore  what  had  been  de- 
livered into  their  keeping."  The  emperor  removed  after  this 
more  than  forty  miles  from  the  camp,  and  ordered  the  siege  to 
be  raised. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


I  HE  valiant  Prince  of  Anlialt  thought  diffe- 
rently to  the  others ;  he  not  only  told  the 
emperor  of  his  willingness  to  go  to  the 
breach,  but  he  went  again  to  find  the 
French,  and  to  show  them  how  discontented  he  was 
at  what  had  happened.  There  was  with  him  in  the 
imperial  army  an  officer  distinguished  by  his  bravery, 
and  all  sorts  of  good  qualities,  who  was  called  Jacob 
Emps,  or  Empser,  a  gentleman  of  Swabia,  in  the  dio- 
cese of  Constance,  and  who  in  the  end  passed  into  the 
king's  service.  He  often  made  one  of  the  French  party 
when  there  were  assaults  or  skirmishes  to  be  made. 
But  this  Captain  Jacob  and  the  Prince  of  Anhalt  could 
not  make  up  for  all  the  Germans.  The  emperor  played 
a  very  singular  part,  suggested  by  the  indignation  that 
his  officers  had  caused  him.  He  left  his  army  the 
following  night  very  secretly,  escorted  by  a  body- 
guard of  500  or  600  men,  and  retired  to  his  own  es- 
tates, forty  miles  distant.  Thence  he  sent  to  Constan- 
tine,  his  lieutenant-general,  and  to  the  Lord  of  Palisse, 
to  raise  the  siege  as  well  as  they  could  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. 

The  sudden  departure  of  this  prince  equally  surprised 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  77 

his  own  soldiers  and  the  French.  In  the  meantime, 
pursuant  to  his  orders,  they  held  a  council  of  war,  and 
resolved  upon  raising  the  siege.  It  was  not  a  very  easy 
operation  to  transport  about  140  pieces  of  cannon;  there 
were  only  carriages  for  about  half  the  number.  The 
French  were  ordered  to  escort  them,  and  by  their  means 
this  numerous  artillery  was  all  removed.  But  the  Prince 
of  Anhalt,  to  cover  the  shame  of  his  nation  as  much  as 
possible,  did  not  leave  the  escort  during  the  whole  pro- 
cess of  removal,  and  he  was  on  foot  and  armed  from 
morninor  till  eveninof,  without  giving  himself  time  to  eat, 
which  acquired  him  the  honour  and  esteem  of  the 
French. 

They  practised  the  same  manoeuvre  for  taking  many 
cannon  that  they  had  recourse  to  on  their  arrival :  they 
took  part  of  them,  and  returned  with  the  carriages  to 
take  others,  and  so  on  till  all  were  carried  there.  In  the 
meantime,  the  garrison  of  Padua  made  vigorous  sallies 
from  hour  to  hour,  notwithstanding  which  the  siege  was 
raised  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man  by  either  army. 
The  German  lansquenets  burnt  every  house  that  they 
left,  and  all  they  found  on  their  road.  Bayard,  who  had 
a  horror  of  excess,  and  of  everything  contrary  to  the 
laws  of  war,  made  seven  or  eight  of  his  men  remain  in 
a  beautiful  house,  which  he  had  occupied,  until  after 
the  departure  of  the  German  savages,  and  by  that  means 
preserved  it  from  burning. 

The  armies  arrived,  after  several  days'  march,  at 
Vicenza,  where  Chabannes  received  letters  from  the 
emperor  and  presents  for  him  and  the  other  French 
captains,  according  to  the  power  of  that  prince,  who 
was  much  more  generous  than  rich.  He  had  good 
qualities,  but  they  were  obscured  by  an  essential  defect, 
which  affected  his  whole  life  :  he  persisted  in  defying 


yS      SPOTLESS    AXD    FEARLESS. 

the  whole  world,  and  planning  alone,  and  without  ad- 
vice, all  his  enterprises. 

The  armies  separated  at  Vicenza.  The  Germans  took 
the  road  to  their  country,  excepting  one  garrison,  which 
remained  in  the  town,  commanded  by  the  Lord  of  Reu. 
The  French  army  retired  into  the  Milanais  on  All 
Saints'  Day,  and  Bayard  remained  in  garrison  at  Ve- 
rona, where  he  signalized  himself  by  new  exploits 
against  the  Venetians,  who  then  held  a  little  place  in 
the  neighbourhood,  named  Lignago,  whence  they  made 
sallies  into  the  country.  During  his  sojourn  at  Verona, 
where  he  had  only  200  or  300  French  men-at-arms  in 
the  service  of  the  emperor,  those  who  guarded  Vicenza 
for  that  prince  did  not  believe  themselves  in  safety. 
Besides  that  they  were  weak  themselves,  they  were  still 
threatened  with  a  siege  ;  they  withdrew  to  Verona,  near 
the  knight,  where,  only  finding  a  moderate  garrison, 
they  passed  beyond,  and  encamped  fifteen  or  eighteen 
miles  farther  off,  at  a  village  named  St.  Boniface.  The 
winter  began  to  make  itself  felt,  and  Bayard's  people 
were  obliged  to  leave  their  place  to  find  forage,  and 
sometimes  go  to  a  great  distance — so  much  so,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  have  them  escorted,  because  from  time  to  time 
he  lost  grooms  and  horses  in  encounters  with  the  enemy. 

The  Venetians  had  a  brave  and  enterprising  captain, 
who  annoyed  the  French  every  day  by  making  inroads 
to  the  very  gates  of  Verona.  Bayard  resolved  to  meet 
him  and  moderate  his  ardour.  For  that  reason  he 
wished  himself  to  escort  the  first  foraging  party,  and  to 
see  close  this  Venetian,  named  John  Paul  Manfroni.  Man- 
froni,  informed  of  Bayard's  design  by  a  spy  who  was  near 
him,  wished  to  profit  by  the  occasion,  and  to  take  sufficient 
men  with  him  to  be  the  stronger  pai'ty,  and  give  the 
kni^rht  the  worst  of  it. 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  79 

One  day  the  foragers,  having  set  out  from  Verona, 
supported  by  thirty  or  forty  men-at-arms  or  archers, 
commanded  by  the  Captain  Pierrepont,  went  towards 
the  country  houses  to  forage.  The  knight,  who  believed 
himself  master  of  his  secret,  was  concealed,  with  100 
men-at-arms,  in  a  village  named  St.  Martin,  on  the  high 
road  from  Yerona,  and  about  six  miles  from  it.  He 
sent  scouts  out  to  reconnoitre,  who  soon  returned  with 
the  news  that  they  had  seen  the  enemy,  to  the  number 
of  500  horse,  drawing  up  right  where  the  foragers  were. 
Manfroni,  warned  by  his  spy  of  Bayard's  intention,  and 
of  the  number  of  his  men,  had  concealed  five  or  six 
hundred  men  in  a  deserted  palace,  pike  men  and  arque- 
busiers,  and  had  told  them  what  to  do,  especially  not  to 
appear  until  they  saw  him  fly,  and  the  French  after 
him.  He  could  not  form  his  plans  better  than  to  sur- 
round them,  and  thus  put  them  between  two  fires. 

As  soon  as  Bayard  learnt  of  the  arrival  of  the  enemy's 
troops,  he  ordered  his  own  to  horse,  without  being  in  the 
least  afraid  of  the  disproportion.  He  had  not  gone  two 
miles  when  he  discovered  them,  and  marching  straight 
forward  to  charge  them,  crying  "France!"  and  "Em- 
pire!" They  kept  firm  a  moment,  but  on  the  approach 
of  the  French  they  pretended  to  retreat,  marching  back- 
wards towards  the  ambuscade,  which  they  passed  at 
about  100  feet  distant,  always  appearing  to  defend  them- 
selves ;  then  they  stopped  suddenly,  and  began  crying, 
"  Marco  !  Marco  !  "  At  this  signal  the  foot  soldiers 
emerged  from  their  ambuscade  and  fired  upon  the 
French.  Bayard's  horse  was  killed  at  the  first  discharge, 
and  he  fell  heavily,  with  one  leg  under  the  animal.  Im- 
mediately his  men-at-arms,  who  would  have  given  their 
lives  to  save  his,  surrounded  him,  and  one  of  them, 
named  Grandmont,   dismounted  and   disenffasred   him. 


8o  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

But  however  good  their  defence,  they  could  not  hinder 
Bayard  and  Grandmont  from  being  taken  prisoners  by 
some  foot-soldiers,  who  wished  to  deprive  them  of  their 
arras.  Pierrepont,  who  was  with  the  foragers,  hearing  the 
noise,  put  his  horse  to  the  gallop,  and  arrived  as  the  two 
prisoners  were  already  out  of  the  ranks  to  be  taken 
away.  At  sight  of  this  fury  seized  him  ;  he  fell  like  a 
lion  upon  those  who  guarded  them,  and  by  furious 
sword  blows  obliged  them  to  release  their  prey  and  to 
fly  towai'ds  their  troop,  which  was  engaged  with  the 
French,  and  both  sides  fought  well. 

Bayard  and  Grandmont,  remounted,  ran  to  the  help 
of  their  men,  who  were  sorely  pressed  both  in  front  and 
in  the  rear,  but  at  the  sight  of  their  captain  and  Pierre- 
pont they  regained  courage.  However,  the  inequality 
was  too  great ;  the  Venetians  were  ten  to  one,  without 
taking  into  account  the  inconvenience  that  the  arque- 
busiers  caused  the  French.  Bayard  felt  the  danger,  and 
said  to  his  nephew  Pierrepont,  "  Captain,  if  we  do  not 
gain  the  high  road  we  shall  perish  here,  and  if  we  can 
reach  it  we  shall  escape  in  spite  of  them,  and,  God  help- 
ing us,  without  loss."  "  I  think  with  you,"  replied 
Pierrepont,  and  they  began  to  retire  towards  the  high 
road,  which  they  finally  reached  with  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty, fighting  every  step  of  the  way.  They  had,  how- 
ever, unsaddled  seven  or  eight  horsemen,  and  put  an 
end  to  forty  or  fifty  of  the  foot-soldiers,  without  losing 
one  of  their  own  men. 

When  Bayard  and  his  troop  had  gained  the  high  road 
they  formed  a  square,  always  fighting  as  they  retired, 
and  now  and  then  turning  upon  their  enemies,  to  whom 
they  gave  some  trouble  ;  but  they  had  on  their  flank 
foot-soldiers,  whose  arquebuses  inconvenienced  them 
much.     The  knight  airain  had  his  horse  wounded  under 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  8i 

him ;  feeling  it  stagger  he  dismounted,  and  performed 
prodigies  of  valour,  without  any  other  arms  than  his 
sword.  He  was  obliged,  however,  to  yield  to  numbers. 
He  was  already  surrounded,  when  the  bastard  Du  Fay, 
his  standard-bearer,  came  with  his  archers,  and  fell  upon 
the  Venetians  with  so  much  bravery  and  success  that  he 
took  him  out  of  their  hands,  and  re-mounted  him  in 
spite  of  them.  Then,  again  forming  a  square  squadron, 
they  regained  the  high  road  to  the  town  with  the 
honour  of  the  day  and  that  of  having  fought  against  a 
number  ten  times  as  large  as  their  own,  of  having  dis- 
mounted a  number  of  their  enemies,  and  only  lost  a 
single  man. 

As  the  night  was  coming  on,  Bayard  ordered  that  the 
charge  should  cease,  and  that  they  should  retire  towards 
St.  Martin,  whence  they  had  set  out  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  day.  He  ordered  a  halt  on  a  bridge  fur- 
nished with  barriers,  to  see  if  they  would  not  be  fol- 
lowed. But  the  Captain  I\Ianfroni,  seeing  that  they  were 
out  of  his  reach,  and  that  they  might  receive  help  from 
Verona,  beat  a  retreat,  and  gave  orders  for  taking  the 
road  to  St.  Boniface.  He  made  the  foot  soldiers  defile 
before  him ;  but  they  were  overcome  with  fatigue, 
having  fought  for  four  or  five  hours  without  pause. 
They  wished  to  remain  at  a  village  four  or  five  miles 
from  St.  Boniface,  in  spite  of  their  captain,  who  was 
forced  to  leave  them  there,  and  to  continue  his  route 
with  his  horse  soldiers.  Manfroni  was  in  a  very  ill 
temper  at  the  treatment  they  had  received  at  the  hands 
of  so  small  a  body  of  men. 

Bayard  and  his  troop  passed  the  night  at  St.  Martin, 
where  they  found  plenty  with  which  to  make  good  cheer, 
and  to  make  up  for  the  fatigue  of  the  day.  They  con- 
gratulated each  other  upon  their  happy  escape  from  the 


82  SPOTLESS  AND  FEARLESS. 

danger  in  which  they  had  been  placed,  and  with  so  little 
loss,  only  having  lost  one  archer  and  four  horses. 

During  the  supper  a  spy  of  Bayard's  arrived,  coming 
from  St.  Boniface,  When  he  was  brought  in,  the  knight 
asked  him  what  the  enemy  was  about ;  the  spy  replied 
that  they  were  in  great  numbers  at  St.  Boniface,  and  that 
they  boasted  that  soon  they  should  take  Verona,  by 
means  of  the  intelligence  that  they  had  received.  "  But 
as  I  went  out,"  added  he,  "the  Captain  Manfroni 
arrived  there,  very  much  fatigued,  and  still  more  vexed, 
for  I  heard  him  say  that  he  had  come  from  the  skirmish, 
where  he  had  been  fighting  with  devils,  and  not  men. 
And  at  four  or  five  miles  from  here,"  said  the  spy,  "  I 
passed  through  a  village  full  of  their  foot-soldiers,  who 
are  staying  there,  and  who  appeared  to  me  very  much 
fatigued."  "  I  wager  my  head,"  said  Bayard,  "  that 
they  are  those  we  saw  to-day,  and  that  they  are  so 
fatigued  with  their  day's  work  that  they  have  not  been 
able  to  go  farther.  If  you  are  willing,  comrades,  they 
shall  be  ours.  We  will  have  our  horses  well  fed,  and 
towards  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  will  go  by 
moonlight  and  wake  them  up  "  All  were  of  his  opinion, 
and  after  having  had  their  horses  well  groomed,  and 
ordered  the  watch,  everyone  went  to  rest  excepting 
Bayard,  who  never  slept  when  he  had  the  idea  of  an  ex- 
pedition in  his  head.  He  was  on  horseback  by  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning  with  his  troop.  Silently  they 
took  the  road  to  the  village  that  the  spy  pointed  out, 
and  on  their  arrival  they  found  neither  watch  nor 
sentinel.  They  began  their  ordinary  cry,  "  Empire  ! 
France !  To  the  death  !  to  the  death  !  "  The  sleepers 
awoke  at  the  noise,  and  still  half  asleep,  came  out  of 
the  houses,  and  found  outside  men  ready  to  slaughter 
them  like  beasts.     Their  captain  assembled  two  or  three 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  83 

hundred  men,  thinking  they  would  be  able  to  defend 
themselves,  but  his  opponents  did  not  give  him  time  ; 
he  was  charged  so  vigorously  that  he  and  two  brothers 
only  were  left  of  all  of  them.  The  two  brothers  were 
exchanged  for  two  French  gentlemen,  prisoners  of  the 
Republic. 

When  Bayard  had  so  gloriously  ended  this  double 
expedition,  he  thought  he  ought  not  to  risk  losing  the 
fruit  of  it  by  any  check,  so  he  returned  to  Verona,  where 
he  was  triumphantly  received.  The  Venetians,  on  the 
contrary,  were  enraged  at  the  second  defeat  of  their 
men,  and  the  proveditore  Andre  Gritti  wanted  to  lay 
the  blame  on  the  Captain  Manfroni,  who  justified  himself 
well,  but  meditated  having  his  revenge  with  as  little 
delay  as  possible. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


[EVEN  or  eight  days  after  the  massacre  of  the 
Venetian  foot-soldiers,  this  Captain  Manfroni 
bargained  with  a  spy,  who  was  employed 
by  Bayard  and  himself,  went  from  one  to 
the  other,  and  took  money  from  both  ;  and  yet  was  better 
affected  towards  Manfroni  than  Bayard.  Manfroni  thus 
instructed  him  :  "  Go  to  Verona,  and  make  the  Captain 
Bayard  understand  that  the  senate  has  nominated  the 
present  commander  at  Lignago  to  go  to  the  Levant  with 
the  state  galleys ;  that  the  proveditore  has  orders  to 
send  me  in  his  place  to  Lignago,  and  that  you  know  for 
a  certainty  that  I  shall  start  for  my  destination  to- 
morrow at  daybreak  with  (300  light  horse,  and  no  foot- 
soldiers.  I  know  his  high  spirit  too  well  to  doubt  that 
he  will  allow  the  opportunity  to  escape  of  visiting  me 
on  my  journey  ;  and  if  he  comes,  I  promise  you  that  the 
best  that  can  happen  to  him  will  be  to  be  taken  prisoner; 
for  I  shall  put  200  men-at-arms  and  2000  foot-soldiers  in 
L'Isola  della  Scala,  in  ambush;  and  if  you  fulfil  my  com- 
mission well,  I  promise  you,  on  my  honour  as  a  gentle- 
man, 200  golden  ducats." 

The  spy,  dazzled  by  such  a  large  sum,  promised  to  do 
his  duty,  and  went  to  Verona  the  same  day.     He  went 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  85 

straight  to  Bayard's  quarters,  where  he  was  well  known 
to  the  servants,  who  saw  him  often,  and  believed  him 
faithful  to  their  master.  They  took  him  to  him  while 
he  was  still  at  supper,  and  he  was  better  received  than 
he  deserved. 

"  Vicentin,"  said  Bayard  to  him,  "  you  do  not  come 
for  nothing  :  what  news?" 

"  Good  news,  sir,"  he  replied.  At  these  words  Bayard 
left  the  table  and  drew  him  aside.  The  false  spy  told 
him  his  commission  with  so  much  apparent  faith  that 
Bayard  was  as  glad  as  he  could  possibly  be.  He  or- 
dered supper  for  his  informant  and  feasted  him  well  ; 
then  he  called  the  Captains  Pierrepont,  Du  Fay,  La 
Yarrenne,  who  then  bore  his  flag,  and  the  Lord  of 
Sucker,  a  Burgundian  gentleman,  who  had  supped  with 
them,  and  told  them  word  for  word  what  he  had  just 
heard  of  the  movements  of  the  Captain  Manfroni,  that 
he  was  to  be  at  Lignago  the  next  day  with  only  300 
horse.  He  asked  them  if  they  were  in  the  humour  to 
follow  him,  saying  that  the  day  should  not  pass  till  Man- 
froni had  been  well  punished.  Everyone  being  will- 
ing, they  agreed  at  once  to  set  out  at  daybreak  with 
200  men-at-arms,  and  sent  word  to  the  Lord  of 
Conti  (Frederick  de  Mailly),  and  made  him  promise 
to  be  ready  by  a  given  time.  He  had  no  thought  of 
refusing,  he  liked  the  business  too  well,  especially  in 
Bayard's  company.  Then  they  separated  to  get  them- 
selves ready  to  assemble  in  good  time.  Thus  would  they 
have  gone  blindly  to  destruction  if  Providence  had  not  . 
saved  them.  The  Lord  of  Sucker,  who  lodged  at  a 
good  distance  from  Bayard,  returning  to  his  own  quar- 
ters, saw  the  same  spy  leaving  a  house  which  he  sus- 
pected ;  it  was  occupied  by  a  noble  Veronese,  known  to 
be  more  Venetian  than  imperial.     Sucker  took  the  spy 


36  SPOTLESS   AND   FEARLESS. 

by  the  collar  and  asked  him  where  he  had  come  from. 
The  spy,  taken  by  surprise,  excused  himself  so  badly  that 
he  only  increased  the  suspicions  of  his  unfaithfulness. 
The  captain,  without  releasing  his  hold,  returned  to 
Bayard  dragging  the  spy  with  him.  Our  hero  was  about 
to  retire  for  the  night ;  he,  however,  ordered  the  spy  to 
be  put  in  security,  and  then  Sucker  told  him  what  had 
happened,  that  he  had  seen  this  man  come  from  the 
house  of  the  Seigneur  Yoltege,  the  most  suspected  par- 
tisan of  the  republic  in  the  town,  that  in  his  surprise  he 
had  changed  colour,  and  stammered,  and  not  been  able 
to  justify  himself. 

Bayard,  on  hearing  this,  did  not  doubt  for  an  instant 
that  treason  was  on  foot.  He  sent  for  the  spy,  and 
asked  him  what  he  had  been  doing  at  Voltege's 
house.  The  coward  replied  at  first  that  he  had  a  rela- 
tion in  the  house  ;  then  he  gave  another  excuse  ;  finally, 
he  contradicted  himself  five  or  six  times.  They  brought 
handcuffs  to  make  him  explain  more  clearly,  and  Bayard 
had  the  goodness  to  promise  him,  on  the  faith  of  a  gen- 
tleman, that  no  harm  should  happen  to  him  although  he 
had  conspired  against  the  knight's  life,  provided  he  told 
the  whole  truth,  but  that  if  he  did  not  he  should  be 
hanged  at  break  of  day. 

The  spy,  seeing  that  he  could  no  longer  dissimulate, 
threw  himself  on  his  knees  before  the  knight,  and  begged 
for  mercy  ;  then  he  confessed  the  plan  of  Captain  Man- 
froni  to  surprise  him  in  an  ambuscade  of  200  men-at- 
arms,  and  2000  foot-soldiers  in  L'Isola  della  Scala;  that 
he  had  been  to  Voltege  to  inform  him  of  it,  and  to  know 
of  him  how  he  could  some  night  give  up  one  of  the  gates 
of  the  town  to  the  Proveditore  Andre  Gritti,  and  many 
other  things  besides ;  but  that  Voltege  had  declared  he 
would  enter  into  no  treason,  and  that  as  the  emperor  had 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  87 

become  his  master  he  wished  to  keep  faith  with  him. 
When  he  had  finished  his  confession  Bayard  said  to  him 
calmly,  "  Vicentin,  I  have  employed  to  very  bad  purpose 
the  ducats  I  have  given  you,  and  though  I  have  always 
looked  upon  you  as  a  rascal,  you  are  far  worse  than  I 
should  have  believed  you — you  richly  deserve  death,  but 
as  I  have  given  you  my  word  that  I  will  not  take  your 
life,  I  will  keep  faith,  and  have  you  put  in  safety  out  of 
the  town,  but  beware  of  entering  it  again,  for  the  whole 
world  shall  not  prevent  my  hanging  you  if  you  do."  At 
these  words  he  drove  him  from  his  presence  and  had  him 
shut  up  in  a  room  to  await  further  orders. 

Bayard,  left  alone  with  the  Captain  Sucker,  said  to  him, 
''  What  can  we  do  to  repay  Captain  Manfroni  for  the 
good  turn  he  intended  us  ?  We  must  have  our  revenge, 
and  if  you  will  do  what  I  tell  you,  believe  me  we  shall 
soon  be  quits  with  him." 

"  You  have  only  to  speak,"  replied  the  captain,  "  I  am 
ready  to  do  anything." 

"  Go  then  at  once,"  said  Bayard,  "  to  the  Prince  of 
Anhalt,  present  my  compliments  to  him,  and  give  him  an 
exact  account  of  this  affair  ;  beg  him  to  give  us  2000 
lansquenets  to-morrow,  whom  we  will  take  with  us  to  a 
good  place,  and,  if  you  do  not  see  wonders,  never  believe 
me  again." 

The  Captain  Sucker  fulfilled  Bayard's  commission,  and 
the  prince,  who  loved  him,  and  esteemed  his  valour, 
granted  his  request  immediately,  saying  that  Bayard  was 
as  much  master  of  his  troops  as  he  was  himself  or  more 
so,  and  that  he  wished  he  could  be  one  of  the  party. 
Then  he  sent  his  secretary  with  his  orders  to  four  or 
five  captains,  who  were  ready  with  their  companies  as 
soon  as  those  who  had  been  warned  in  the  evening. 

The  Baron  of  Conti,  who  did  not   know  what  had 


88  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

happened,  was  astonished  at  the  number ;  but  when  he 
was  informed  of  the  plot  by  Bayard,  "  On  my  faith," 
said  he,  "  we  shall  have  a  merry  day's  work." 

The  gates  being  opened,  the  whole  of  these  troops 
took  the  road  to  L'Isola  della  Scala.  Now,  at  two  miles 
from  there,  there  was  a  village  called  Servoda,  where 
the  knight  put  the  Captain  Sucker  with  the  2000  lans- 
quenets in  ambush,  promising  to  lead  the  enemy  under 
his  very  nose,  and  to  give  him  an  opportunity  of  acquir- 
ing honour.  Bayard  and  the  Baron  of  Conti,  with  their 
troop,  marched  straight  to  Isola,  without  appearing  to 
know  who  were  concealed ;  they  were  in  a  beautiful 
plain,  very  open,  where  they  saw  at  a  little  distance  the 
Captain  Manfroni  with  some  light  horse.  Bayard  sent  his 
standard-bearer,  the  bastard  Du  Fay,  with  some  archers, 
to  commence  the  skirmish,  and  followed  him  pretty  closely 
with  his  soldiers.  But  he  soon  saw  emerging  from  Isola 
the  foot-men  of  Venice,  with  a  troop  of  soldiers;  he 
affected  fright  and  ordered  the  trumpet  to  sound  the 
recall.  Thereupon  Du  Fay,  who  had  his  lesson  by 
heart,  retired  towards  the  main  body  and  formed  with 
it  a  single  square  squadron,  which  feigning  to  retire 
towards  Verona,  went  slowly  to  the  village  where  was 
the  ambuscade  of  lansquenets,  to  whom  an  archer  had 
been  already  sent  to  order  them  to  prepare  for  battle. 
The  Venetian  soldiery,  supported  by  the  infantry, 
charged  the  French  rudely,  making  a  deafening  noise 
with  instruments,  as  though  they  were  sure  of  victory. 
The  French  on  their  side  did  not  break,  and  skirmished 
prudently  and  with  precaution  till  they  had  arrived  at 
the  village  of  Sevoda.  Then  the  lansquenets  appeared 
in  good  order  at  a  bow-shot  from  the  cavalry,  and 
Bayard  cried  immediately,  "  Charge  ! " 

The  Venetians,  already  surprised  at  the  sight  of  the 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  89 

infantry,  whom  they  did  not  expect,  were  very  much 
more  astonished  at  the  shock  they  were  obliged  to 
receive  from  the  men-at-arms.  Nevertheless,  they  bore 
it  very  well  at  first,  although  many  of  their  men  were  cut 
down.  The  lansquenets  afterwards  fell  upon  their  foot- 
soldiers,  who,  having  no  way  of  retreat,  were  cut  to  pieces ; 
their  enemies  disdaining  to  take  a  single  prisoner. 

Manfroni,  witness  of  his  own  defeat,  did  his  duty  very 
well ;  but  seeinir  no  other  resource  than  flight,  gal- 
loped  furiously  away  towards  St.  Boniface.  He  was 
pursued ;  but  Bayard  ordered  a  retreat,  and  his  whole 
troop  assembled,  having  made  considerable  booty,  and 
gained  many  horses.  It  also  had  taken  prisoners  about 
sixty  men-at-arms,  who  were  led  to  Yerona.  The 
loss  of  the  Venetians  was  complete.  Besides  the  pri- 
soners already  mentioned,  twenty-five  men-at-arms  were 
left  upon  the  field,  and  of  their  2000  foot-soldiers  not 
one  escaped.  A  triumphant  reception  was  given  to  the 
conquerors  at  Verona.  French,  Burgundians,  and  Lans- 
quenets shared  the  praise,  their  companions  only  regret- 
ting that  they  had  not  been  with  them. 

If  this  day  was  glorious  for  Bayard,  and  for  all  those 
who  took  part  with  him,  it  was  still  happier  by  reason 
of  the  discovered  treason,  without  which  discovery  they 
would  all  have  infiillibly  perished.  However,  we  must 
render  justice  to  Bayard's  greatness  of  mind  on  the  two 
occasions  that  we  are  about  to  speak  of.  In  the  first, 
^lanfroni  attacks  him  with  500  men,  and  prepares  an 
ambuscade  of  600  others.  Bayard  only  having  140  ;  in 
the  second,  the  same  use  of  treason  in  having  him  told 
that  he  should  march  with  only  300  light  horse,  and 
reckoning  well  that  the  knight  would  not  have  more,  he 
prepares  another  ambuscade,  where  he  puts  2000  men, 
to  make  sure  of  overwhelming  him.     The  knight,  on  the 


90  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

contrary,  will  only  take  at  first  200  soldiers  to  oppose  to 
300  of  the  enemy,  and  when  he  knows  the  treason,  in- 
stead of  revenging  himself  on  Manfroni,  and  attacking 
him  with  superior  forces,  he  contents  himself  with  the 
same  number.  This  is  what  he  practised  during  his 
whole  life.  He  always  had  a  horror  of  treason  and 
traitors,  and  we  shall  see  in  the  course  of  his  history 
that,  after  God,  he  reckoned  more  on  the  valour  of  his 
troops  than  on  the  superiority  of  their  number.  When 
Bayard  returned  to  his  quarters,  he  had  the  spy  brought 
before  him,  and  said  to  him,  "  I  have  given  you  my 
word,  and  I  must  keep  it.  Go  to  the  Venetian  camp, 
and  ask  the  Signor  Manfroni  if  Captain  Bayard  has 
done  as  much  as  he  ;  and  tell  him  from  me  that  we  will 
see  each  other  again  as  soon  as  he  likes,  at  the  same 
price."  That  said,  he  had  him  taken  out  of  the  town  by 
two  archers.  The  spy  was  fool  enough  to  go  straight 
to  St.  Boniface,  but  he  had  hardly  arrived  there,  when 
Manfroni  had  him  hanged  as  a  traitor,  without  even 
hearing  a  word  he  had  to  say. 

The  winter  suspended  operations.  However,  the 
Venetians,  who  still  held  Lignago,  and  had  a  good 
garrison  there,  often  made  raids  upon  that  of  Verona, 
which  returned  the  compliment. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  year  (1510),  that  is  to 
say,  immediately  after  Easter,  the  Duke  of  Nemours, 
nephew  of  the  king,  went  into  Italy.  He  had  with  him 
the  illustrious  Captain  Louis  d'Ars,  of  whom  we  have 
spoken  several  times  already.  They  were  received  in  a 
manner  consistent  with  their  rank  by  the  grand-master 
of  Chaumont,  governor  of  Milan,  and  by  all  the  heads  of 
the  army.  But  no  one  received  more  marks  of  esteem 
and  friendship  than  Bayard,  as  well  from  the  prince 
Twho  had  known  him  for  a  long  time,  and  who  had  been 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  91 

informed  of  his  exploits  since  they  had  met)  as  from 
Louis  d'Ars,  his  first  teacher  in  the  art  of  fighting.  The 
king  sent  an  addition  of  2000  lansquenets  and  several 
other  captains,  under  the  Lord  of  Molard,  to  join  the 
army  in  Italy. 

The  grand-master  went  to  lay  siege  before  J^ignago, 
and  to  cut  off  his  help  and  provisions,  Milaut  d'Alegre 
was  sent  to  Yicenza  with  500  men-at-arms,  and  4000  or 
5000  lansquenets  of  the  brave  Prince  of  Anhalt,  who 
had  for  his  lieutenant  the  Captain  Jacob  Emps.  The 
place  stood  a  deal  of  cannonading  a  tolerably  long  time 
by  a  numerous  artillery,  to  which  was  added  that  of  the 
Duke  of  Ferrara,  where  was,  amongst  others,  a  culverine 
of  twenty  feet  long,  which  the  adventurers  called  the 
great  devil.  The  town  was  taken  at  last,  and  quarter 
was  given  to  none.  Molard  and  his  adventurers  did 
wonders,  for  they  could  not  wait  till  the  breach  should 
be  of  a  proper  size  to  give  the  assault.  The  grand- 
master placed  La  Cropte-Daillon  there  as  governor,  and 
with  him  100  men-at-arms,  of  whom  he  had  the  charge, 
under  the  Marquis  of  Montferrat,  and  1000  foot-soldiers, 
commanded  by  the  captains  Le  Herisson  and  Jacques 
Corse,  a  Xeapolitan.  During  the  siege  of  Lignago,  the 
grand-master  heard  of  the  death  of  his  uncle,  the  Car- 
dinal d'Amboise.  He  felt  this  loss  so  much  that  he 
could  never  be  consoled  for  it.  His  grief  degenerated 
into  a  languor,  of  which  he  died  a  short  time  after,  as 
we  shall  mention  in  its  place.  He  was  under  obligations 
to  this  great  man  for  the  dignities  which  he  enjoyed, 
having  become  successively  grand-master,  marshal  and 
admiral  of  France,  and  governor  of  the  duchy  of  Milan. 
This  grand  prelate,  to  whom  one  cannot  refuse  praise, 
whenever  there  is  occasion  to  mention  him,  had  also 
done  much  good  to  all  his  house,  then  very  numerous, 


92  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

in  the  church,  the  court,  and  the  camp.  All  the  his- 
torians of  his  time  agree  in  praising  him  for  the  wisdom 
of  his  ministry,  on  the  possession  of  the  king's  entire 
confidence,  and  upon  the  administration  of  the  finances, 
which  were  always  abundant,  without  fresh  taxes  upon 
the  people,  although  Louis  XII.  had  almost  continual 
wars  to  maintain ;  finally,  by  his  scrupulous  disin- 
terestedness, never  having  wished  for  mor6  than  one 
benefice.  He  died  Archbishop  of  Rouen,  where  his 
memory  is  revered  to  the  present  day.  His  death  took 
place,  says  the  historian  Bouchet,  a  short  time  after 
the  breaking  of  the  treaty  of  Cambray. 

The  grand-master  of  Chaumont,  his  nephew,  notwith- 
standing his  affliction,  which  he  tried  to  conceal  as  much 
as  he  could,  was  not  less  watchful  of  the  interests  of  the 
king,  his  master.  Having  then  provided  the  guard  of 
Lignago,  he  went  to  unite  his  troops  to  those  of  the 
emperor,  to  march  against  the  Venetians,  and  reduce 
them.  Four  hundred  Spanish  and  Neapolitan  men-at- 
arms  had  newly  arrived  to  the  assistance  of  the  emperor. 
They  were  the  finest  troops  one  could  see,  under  the 
orders  of  the  Duke  of  Termes.'  They  put  them  in 
garrison  at  Verona  to  refresh  them.  The  two  armies 
went  to  camp  at  a  town  named  Sainte  Croix,  where  they 
stopped  to  await  the  emperor,  who  was  expected ;  but 
they  waited  in  vain. 

When  they  left  the  camp  of  Sainte  Croix  to  go  to 
Montselles  that  the  Venetians  had  retaken,  a  very  un- 
fortunate event  happened  which  deserves  to  be  recorded. 

'  I  have  uot  been  able  to  discover  (says  M.  de  Berville) 
who  the  Duke  of  Termes  was  at  the  period  of  which  we  are 
writing.  There  must  certainly  be  an  error  in  the  original 
history. 


LIFE    OF  BAYARV.  93 

Xear  Longara  there  is  a  mountain,  in  which  there  is  a 
natural  cavern,  more  than  a  mile  in  length.  The  in- 
habitants of  the  low  country,  frightened  at  the  war,  had 
taken  refuge  there,  to  the  number  of  2000  persons,  men 
and  women,  gentle  and  simple,  with  their  goods  and  a 
quantity  of  provisions.  They  had  some  fire-anqs  with 
which  to  defend  the  entrance  in  case  of  attack,  and  this 
entrance  was  so  narrow  that  only  one  man  at  a  time 
could  pass  through  it. 

The  adventurers,  plunderers,  of  whom  the  most  cow- 
ardly are  generally  foremost,  discovered  this  cave.  They 
wished  to  enter,  but  they  begged  them  not  to  do  so, 
because,  said  they,  those  who  were  within  having  left 
their  goods  in  their  houses,  there  was  no  booty  to  be 
obtained.  The  adventurers  thought  this  advice  was 
only  given  them  to  turn  them  from  the  project  they  had 
formed  of  penetrating  into  the  cave,  and  because  there 
was  undoubtedly  some  good  capture  to  make ;  that  is 
why  they  determined  to  force  an  entrance  ;  but  they 
fired  on  them  from  the  cavern,  and  killed  two.  The 
others  were  intimidated  by  this  unexpected  event,  and 
dared  not  undertake  a  fresh  attempt.  They  despatched 
some  among  them  to  call  their  comrades,  who  hastened 
to  the  spot,  following  their  custom  of  being  more  diligent 
in  the  performance  of  a  bad  than  a  good  action.  When 
these  villains  saw  that  they  could  not  enter  by  force, 
they  revenged  themselves  cruelly.  They  raised  a  pile 
of  wood,  hay,  and  straw  before  the  mouth  of  the  cave, 
and  set  fire  to  it.  In  a  moment  such  a  stifling  smoke 
arose  that  the  cave  was  full  of  it,  and  the  air  only  enter- 
ing by  this  opening,  all  its  occupants  were  suffocated 
before  the  fire  had  touched  one  of  them. 

Among  these  unhappy  victims  a  number  of  gentlemen 
and  ladies  were  found,  although  dead,  as  if  asleep,  and 


94      SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

not  in  the  least  disfigured.  When  the  smoke  had  dis- 
persed, the  adventurers  entered,  and  made  immense 
booty.  Their  barbarity  horrified  the  grand-master  and 
all  the  heads  of  the  army. 

But  Bayard,  who  was  a  sworn  enemy  to  such  expedi- 
tions, had  no  rest  till  he  had  laid  hands  on  some  of  these 
brigands.  Two  of  them  fell  into  his  hands,  one  man  with 
one  ear,  and  the  other  with  none.  He  made  strict  in- 
quiries into  their  mode  of  life,  and  found  more  than  was 
necessary  for  their  deliverance  to  the  provost,  who  had 
them  hanged  before  the  entrance  to  the  grotto,  in  pre- 
sence of  Bayard,  who  wished  to  be  a  witness  of  their 
punishment. 

While  the  execution  was  taking  place,  a  kind  of 
phantom  issued  from  the  cave,  a  child  of  fifteen  years, 
yellowed  by  smoke,  and  more  dead  than  alive.  He  was 
taken  to  the  knight,  who  asked  him  by  what  miracle  he 
had  escaped.  The  child  answered  that  when  he  saw  the 
horrible  smoke,  he  fled  to  the  farthest  extremity  of  the 
cavern,  where  he  had  observed  the  rock  broken  up  above, 
and  that  thence  he  had  received  a  little  air.  He  related 
also  a  very  deplorable  circumstance,  which  was  that 
some  gentlemen  and  their  wives,  having  seen  the  prepa- 
rations for  the  burning,  had  wished  to  go  out,  at  the  risk 
of  perishing  outside,  rather  than  remain  within ;  but 
that  the  peasants  shut  up  with  them,  and  who  formed 
the  stronger  and  the  larger  number,  had  prevented 
them  with  pikes  and  other  arms,  saying,  "  As  we  must 
perish  here,  you  shall  also  remain." 

We  have  seen  that  from  Sainte  Croix  the  armies 
turned  towards  Montselle,  that  the  Venetians  had  re- 
taken. They  had  fortified  it,  and  placed  there  a  garrison 
of  1000  or  1200  men.  On  the  road.  Bayard,  D'Alegre, 
and  the  Lord  Mercure,  an  Albanian  captain  in  the  ser- 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  95 

vice  of  the  emperor,  met  a  troop  of  light  horse  in  the 
^Je^vice  of  the  republic,  whom  thej  called  Croates  (the 
troop  of  Croatia),  more  Turk  than  Christian,  and  noted 
for  plunder.  They  were  coming  to  see  if  there  was  any- 
thing to  be  done,  and  booty  to  be  gained ;  but  all  the 
good  they  got  by  their  expedition  was  to  be  left  nearly 
all  dead  on  the  field  or  prisoners.  Amongst  these  was  a 
cousin  of  that  Lord  Mercure,  and  his  greatest  enemy, 
who  had  unjustly  despoiled  him  of  all  his  goods  in 
Croatia,  their  native  country.  They  recognized  each 
other,  and  the  conqueror,  remembering  all  the  ill  the 
other  had  done  him,  refused  to  ransom  or  exchange 
him,  although  he  remonstrated  with  him,  that  as  he  was 
a  prisoner  of  war,  he  ought  to  enjoy  the  common  right 
of  ransom,  and  he  offered  liim  6000  ducats  and  six 
Turkish  horses  of  admirable  beauty. 

"  We  will  speak  of  that  at  our  leisure,"  said  Mercure  ; 
"  but  in  good  faith,  if  I  were  in  your  power,  as  you  are 
in  mine,  what  would  you  do  with  me  ?  " 

"  As  you  press  me  so  much,"  replied  the  other,  ''  I 
declare  to  you  that  if  you  were  in  my  power,  as  I  am  in 
yours,  all  the  gold  in  the  world  should  not  hinder  me 
from  cutting  you  to  pieces." 

"  Truly,"  said  Mercure,  "  I  have  no  desire  to  serve 
you  worse." 

At  that  moment  he  ordered  his  Albanians  to  sabre 
him  and  his  Croates,  which  was  so  promptly  and  so  well 
executed,  that  there  was  neither  captain  nor  man  who 
did  not  receive  ten  superfluous  strokes.  Afterwards 
they  cut  all  their  heads  off,  and  bore  them  in  triumph  at 
the  end  of  their  pikes,  after  the  manner  of  the  Turks. 
These  Croates  wore  a  singular  dress ;  amongst  other 
things,  they  had  their  heads  covered  with  a  bonnet 
made  of  many  sheets  of  paper  pasted  together,  impene- 
trable to  the  sword. 


96  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

Montselles  was  besieged  and  cannonaded  for  four  or 
five  days.  It  was  so  well  fortified  that  it  would  never 
have  been  taken  without  the  indiscreet  and  too  frequent 
sallies  of  the  garrison,  which  came  sometimes  within  a 
stone's  throw  of  the  fort  against  the  French  adventurers, 
who  only  wanted  to  go  and  see  what  was  going  on  in 
the  place.  One  day  Captain  Molard's  men  went  with  a 
gentleman  named  the  Baron  of  Montfaucon  to  skirmish 
with  the  men  in  the  castle,  who  received  them  gallantly, 
and  repulsed  them  two  or  three  times  with  loss,  but  who 
finally  followed  them  too  far,  so  that,  when  they  wished 
to  retire,  they  were  so  fatigued  that  they  could  hardly 
drag  themselves  along.  When  the  rest  of  the  garrison 
saw  that  all  was  lost,  they  retired  into  a  large  tower, 
where  they  were  besieged ;  and  as  they  would  not  give 
themselves  up,  they  set  fire  to  the  foot,  and  the  greater 
part  allowed  themselves  to  be  burnt  rather  than  to  be 
taken  prisoners;  others  jumped  out  of  the  windows,  and 
were  received  on  the  point  of  their  pikes.  Finally 
almost  all  perished.  On  the  French  side  a  gentleman 
named  Camican  was  killed,  and  the  Baron  of  Montfaucon 
was  mortally  wounded  ;  however,  he  recovered,  but  with 
much  difficulty. 


CHAPTER  X. 


HE  town  of  Montselles  having  been  taken, 
they  increased  the  fortifications,  and  put  a 
strong  garrison  there,  with  the  design  of 
going  immediately  to  lay  siege  to  Padua. 
\Vhile  these  plans  were  in  progress,  they  heard  that 
the  Pope  Julius  11.  had  declared  war  against  the  Duke 
of  Ferrara,  an  ally  of  the  king,  to  whom  this  prince  had 
written  to  obtain  help.  The  king  granted  it  him,  and 
gave  orders  to  the  grandmaster,  his  lieutenant-general, 
to  help  the  duke.  Chaumont,  in  consequence,  sent  him 
a  detachment  of  4000  men,  under  the  orders  of  the 
Lords  of  Clermont,  Montoison,  de  Fontrailles,  du  Lude, 
and  Bayard.  Added  to  these  were  800  Swiss,  newly 
arrived  in  the  army  as  adventurers,  commanded  by  a 
captain  of  their  nation,  named  Jacob  Zemberc.  These 
officers  and  their  troops  were  received  with  much  joy 
by  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Ferrara  and  their  subjects. 
Before  speaking  of  the  war  between  the  Pope  and  the 
Duke  of  Ferrara,  it  will  be  well  in  this  place  to  give  an 
account  of  a  check  that  a  party  of  French  received 
through  the  treachery  of  a  spy.  La  Cropte-Daillon  was 
hardly  in  possession  of  his  government  of  Lignago,  when 


98       SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

he  fell  dangerously  ill.  He  had  with  him  a  great  number 
of  volunteers,  gentlemen.  One  amongst  them  was  named 
Guyon  de  Cantiers,  braver  and  more  venturesome  than 
prudent.  The  Venetians  made  incursions  even  to  the 
gates  of  the  town  ;  but  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison,  who 
only  had  orders  to  guard  it,  dared  not  go  out.  Guyon 
de  Cantiers  had  made  acquaintance  with  the  gentlemen 
of  the  town  of  Montagnane,  at  twelve  or  fifteen  miles 
from  Lignago,  who  supplied  him  Avith  spies.  One  of 
them  often  came  to  see  this  officer  in  garrison,  and 
assured  him  one  day  that,  if  he  could  go  out  with  a 
small  number  of  horse  and  foot-soldiers,  he  would  pro- 
vide him  with  the  means  of  carrying  off  the  proveditore 
Andre  Gritti,  who  often  came  to  Montagnane  with  two 
or  three  hundred  light  horse.  He  promised  to  give  him 
notice  of  the  best  day  for  the  occasion,  and  to  show  him 
an  ambuscade,  where  he  could  place  himself  in  the 
morning,  and  whence  he  could  assuredly  carry  off  the 
proveditore,  and  immediately  afterwards  take  the  town, 
where  there  was  plenty  of  plunder  to  be  had.  Cantiers, 
who  was  no  less  eager  to  signalize  himself  by  an  exploit 
than  to  take  possession  of  this  booty,  promised  to  act  as 
the  spy  directed,  and  charged  him  to  warn  him  of  the 
exact  time. 

This  traitor,  having  returned  to  Montagnane,  told  the 
commander  of  his  agreement  with  Cantiers,  and  pro- 
mised to  give  him  up  a  party  from  the  garrison  of 
Lignago,  and  to  give  him  the  power  of  retaking  the 
place  even,  which  was  of  consequence  to  the  Venetian 
senate.  The  commander  thought  of  the  project,  and 
by  an  express  informed  the  proveditore  of  it,  who  im- 
mediately sent  300  men-at-arms,  800  light  horse,  and 
2000  foot-soldiers. 

The  very  same  day  the  spy  returned  to  Cantiers,  who 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  99 

was  charmed  to  see  him,  and  asked  him  what  news  he 
brought.  "  Very  good  for  you,  if  you  will  profit  by  it," 
he  answered  in  a  confident  tone.  "  The  proveditore 
arrives  this  evening  in  our  town  with  only  100  horse. 
If  you  will  be  in  the  country  to-morrow  before  day,  I 
will  give  him  up  to  you."  Cantiers,  transported  with 
joy,  ran  to  announce  this  news  to  his  companions, 
amongst  others  to  a  gentleman  who  was  their  standard- 
bearer,  named  young  Llalherbe.  Every  one  wished  to 
take  part  in  the  expedition  ;  but  to  do  so  the  permission 
of  the  commander,  La  Cropte-Daillon,  was  necessary, 
who,  being  still  ill,  kept  his  room.  Cantiers  and  Mal- 
herbe  went  to  ask  him,  and  related  the  enterprise  as  the 
most  glorious  and  advantageous  in  the  world.  La 
Cropte  was  too  wise  to  profit  by  their  advice  at  first. 
"You  know,"  said  he,  "that  the  place  has  been  con- 
fided to  me  alone  on  my  life  and  honour,  to  keep  it.  If 
any  misfortune  happened  to  you,  I  should  be  a  dis- 
honoured man,  and  I  should  die  of  grief,  so  I  cannot 
allow  you  to  adopt  this  plan."  They  insisted  more 
strongly  than  before,  assuring  him  that  their  spy  was  a 
safe  man ;  finally,  they  said  so  much  to  him  that  rather 
by  force  or  importunity  than  of  his  own  good-will  he 
gave  them  leave. 

The  proveditore  had  sent  as  ambuscade,  at  two  or 
three  miles  round  Montagnane,  200  men-at-arms  and 
1000  foot-soldiers,  with  orders  to  let  pass  all  that  went 
out  from  Lignago,  and  to  cut  off  the  passage  from 
behind,  which  plan  was  only  too  well  carried  out  for 
the  unfortunate  Cantiers  and  his  companions. 

These,  who  would  have  taken  permission  themselves 
if  their  commander  had  refused  it,  gave  notice  to  their 
troop,  of  the  hour  when  it  would  be  necessary  to  be  on 
horseback,  to  the  number  of  fifty  men-at-arms,  under 


loo  SPOTLESS   AND   FEARLESS. 

the  orders  of  Malherbe,  and  300  foot-soldiers,  led  by 
Cantiers,  and  they  set  out  from  Lignago  just  before  two 
o'clock,  guided  by  their  faithless  spy,  who  led  them  to 
butchery. 

They  followed  the  high  road  from  Lignago  to  Mon- 
tagnane,  the  foot-soldiers  before,  and  the  cavalry  form- 
ing the  wing,  passed  without  challenge  a  little  village, 
where  the  first  ambuscade  was,  and  advanced  to  within 
a  mile  of  the  town.  There  the  spy  left  them,  to  go,  as  he 
said,  to  see  what  was  going  on  at  Montagu ane.  They 
let  him  go  ;  but  they  might  better  have  killed  him,  for 
he  went  straight  to  the  proveditore,  and  said  to  him, 
"  I  have  brought  you  the  best  part  of  the  garrison  of 
Lignago  with  the  rope  round  their  necks,  and,  if  you 
like,  not  one  of  them  can  escape  you.  They  are  at 
about  a  mile  from  here,  and  less  than  that  from  the 
ambuscade.  Gritti  was  soon  on  horseback  with  all  his 
men,  and  sent  200  horse  forward  to  skirmish.  The 
French  were  full  of  joy,  thinking  that  the  proveditore 
was  in  this  first  party,  and  that  they  were  going  to 
capture  him.  They  charged  the  company  vigorously, 
but  the  men  turned  and  fled  towards  the  chief  ambus- 
cade. Then  the  great  secret  was  explained,  and  thp 
French,  greatly  astonished,  returned  to  their  foot- 
soldiers,  and  said  to  them,  "We  are  lost;  they  are 
more  than  3000  ;  we  must  try  to  save  ourselves."  The 
Venetians  followed  closely  on  their  heels  crying,  "Marco, 
slaughter ! " 

The  French,  seeing  the  danger,  put  their  foot-soldiers 
in  front,  and  the  cavalry  behind,  to  support  them,  and 
in  this  manner  retreated,  without  loss,  to  the  village 
where  the  first  Venetian  ambuscade  was.  These  showed 
themselves  immediately  at  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  in 
the  order   that  they  were,  and  shut   out   the  road  to 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  loi 

Lignago  from  the  French,  who  found  themselves  sur- 
rounded by  a  number  ten  times  as  large  as  their  own. 
However,  they  defended  themselves  like  lions,  and  occu- 
pied this  great  number  more  than  four  hours  without 
being  broken.  Then  Gritti  sent  his  cross-bowmen  to 
attack  the  foot-soldiers  on  the  flank,  which  soon  scattered 
them,  but  did  not  hinder  them  from  retiring  to  within 
four  miles  from  their  place.  Finally  attacked  on  all  sides, 
their  men-at-arms  dismounted,  the  greater  part  of  their 
horses  slain,  and  only  one  to  ten  of  their  adversaries, 
they  were  obliged  to  yield,  and  in  such  a  manner,  that 
out  of  three  hundred  not  one  was  left.  Cantiers,  their 
captain,  seeing  that  all  was  lost,  threw  himself  upon 
the  enemy,  and  slew  six  with  his  own  hand  before 
he  perished  himself.  Malherbe  continued  an  hour 
longer  with  his  men-at-arms,  and  was  at  last  made 
prisoner  with  twenty-five  of  his  men ;  all  the  rest 
were  slain.  Not  one  man  remained  to  carry  the  news 
to  Lignago. 

The  proveditore  Gritti,  seeing  that  his  victory  was  so 
complete,  thought  of  a  stratagem  to  surprise  Lignago. 
He  had  all  the  dead  Frenchmen  stripped,  and  their 
dress  put  upon  as  many  of  his  own  soldiers,  both  foot 
and  horse.  Then  he  gave  them  120  of  his  men  to  lead 
as  prisoners,  with  three  falconers  that  the  French  had 
brought,  and  he  ordered  them  to  go  to  the  town,  and  to 
cry  on  arriving,  "  France !  France!  victory!  victory!" 
"  Those  in  the  town,"  said  he,  "  will  think  their  own  men 
have  arrived  victorious  ;  and  to  deceive  them  better, 
carry  their  standards  with  some  of  ours,  as  if  you  had 
gained  them.  They  will  certainly  open  the  gate  to  you, 
and  you  can  seize  it.  I  shall  march  at  a  bowshot  from 
you,  and  join  you  at  the  first  sound  of  the  trumpet.  If 
you  play  your  parts  well,  Lignago  will  be  ours  in  the 


ro2  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

day,  and  you  know  of  what  importance  it  is  to  the 
Republic." 

This  order  was  perfectly  executed.  The  Venetians  ap- 
proached the  place  to  the  sound  of  trumpets  and  clarions, 
and  began  crying,  "Victory!"  La  Cropte  had  a  lieu- 
tenant named  Bernard  de  Villars,  a  man  of  quality,  an  old 
and  experienced  soldier,  who, seeingthis triumphant  troop 
approach,  went  up  to  the  donjon  of  the  gate  to  recon- 
noitre it.  He  suspected  the  marching  and  the  coun- 
tenances of  both  the  foot  and  horse  soldiers.  "  These 
are  the  dresses  and  horses  of  our  men,"  said  he ;  "  but 
they  are  not  mounted  in  the  French  fashion  ;  they  do 
not  manage  their  horses  as  we  do.  My  heart  tells  me 
that  our  men  have  met  with  some  misfortune,  and  that 
this  is  only  a  stratagem."  Under  this  idea  he  sent  a 
man  to  have  the  drawbridge  lowered  and  raised  again. 
"  If  these  are  our  men,"  said  he,  "  you  will  recognize 
them  ;  if  not,  save  yourselves  behind  the  barrier.  I 
have  two  pieces  of  loaded  cannon,  with  which  I  shall 
receive  them."  The  soldier  executed  the  order.  He 
went  out  of  the  place  to  reconnoitre  the  troop,  and 
cried,  "  Who  goes  there  ?  Where  is  Captain  Mal- 
herbe?"  None  answered;  but  the  enemy,  thinking 
that  the  bridge  woul  1  be  down,  spurred  their  horses. 
The  soldier  gained  the  barrier  in  haste ;  then  they 
discharged  the  two  pieces  of  cannon,  which  stopped 
the  astonished  troop,  and  made  them  turn  back.  Thus 
the  place  was  saved ;  but  the  day  had  been  only  too 
unfortunate. 

When  Daillon  learnt  this  news  he  thought  he  should 
have  died  of  grief.  The  king  was  near  bringing  him  to 
trial ;  but  Marshal  Trivulce  appeased  him.  He  was 
then  at  the  court  to  stand  godfather  to  Madame  Renee, 
se^'ond  daughter  of  the  king,  and  as  he  knew  Daillon  to 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  103 

be  a  good   officer,  he  justified  him,  and    obtnined  his 
pardon. 

But  we  must  resume  the  account  of  the  war  declared 
against  the  Duke  of  Ferrara  by  the  pope,  which  we  in- 
terrupted* to  relate  this  occurrence. 


CHAPTER  XL 

IN  1511,  Julius  II,  claiming  the  Duchy  of 
Ferrara  as  a  possession  of  the  Holy  See,  and 
wishing  to  reunite  it,  raised  an  army  in  the 
Bologna,  and  to  carry  it  through  this  duchy 
he  took  it  to  a  town  named  Santo  Felice,  between 
Concordia  and  La  Mirandola.  The  duke  on  his  side, 
and  the  French  whom  he  had  with  him,  had  come  to 
lodge  at  twelve  miles  from  Ferrara,  between  the  two 
branches  of  the  Po,  at  a  place  called  the  Ospitaletto,  and 
they  made  a  bridge  of  boats,  upon  which  they  put  a 
strong  guard,  and  by  this  bridge  they  made  frequent 
skirmishes. 

When  the  pope  had  arrived  at  Santo  Felice,  he  sent 
a  haughty  message  to  the  Countess  of  La  Mirandola, 
desiring  her  to  return  the  town  to  him,  because  it  was 
necessary  for  his  expedition  to  Ferrara.  This  lady,  who 
was  a  natural  daughter  of  Marshal  Trivulce,  of  whom 
we  have  just  spoken,  was  the  widow  of  Louis-Marie 
Picot.*  Like  her  father's,  her  heart  was  entirely  French; 
and  as  she  had  been  informed  that  the  Duke  of  Ferrara 

'  The  Loyal  Servant  says  "natural  daughter  to  the  Lord 
John  Jaraes  of  Trivulce,  and  then  a  widow." 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  105 

was  an  ally  of  France,  and  that  the  king  sent  aid  to  him, 
she  would  not,  at  the  risk  of  her  life,  have  given  up  her 
town  to  the  pope.  She  had  with  her  at  the  time  her 
cousin-german,  the  Count  Alexander  Trivulce,  with 
whom  she  planned  the  answer  that  she  should  return  to 
the  holy  father's  message.  She  told  the  deputy  to  re- 
turn, and  tell  his  master  that  the  countess  would  not 
give  up  her  town  at  any  price  whatever ;  that  God  had 
made  her  lady  and  mistress  of  it,  and  she  knew  how  to 
guard  it  again^t  whoever  wished  to  wrest  it  from 
her. 

The  pope,  irritated  to  the  last  degree  by  this  answer, 
swore  by  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  that  he  would  make 
himself  master  of  it  by  fair  or  foul  means,  and  he 
ordered  his  nephew,  and  captain-general  of  his  army, 
the  Duke  of  Urbino,  to  prepare  himself  at  once  to  be- 
siege it  the  next  day.  The  Count  Alexander,  who  had 
expected  this,  sent  in  all  haste  to  acquaint  the  Duke  ot 
Ferrara  and  the  French  generals  at  La  Mirandola  with 
what  had  happened.  He  told  them  that,  not  having 
enough  soldiers  to  defend  the  town,  he  begged  them 
to  send  them  a  hundred  brave  men  and  two  chief 
artillerymen.  The  keeping  of  La  Mirandola  interested 
the  Duke  of  Ferrara'^  so  much  that  he  immediately  sent 
the  required  help. 

With  the  100  men  and  the  two  artillerists  set  out  as 
volunteers  two  French  gentlemen,  the  Lords  of  Mont- 


2  This  duke  was  named  Alphonse  I,  son  of  Hei'cules  L  He 
was  a  great  captain,  wise  and  vigilant  in  war,  and  a  good 
politician.  He  was  a  man  learned  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  and 
he  was  especially  noted  for  his  skill  in  engineering  and  mathe- 
matics, even  to  the  extent  of  the  casting  of  artillery,  and  the 
construction  of  gun  carriages. 


io6  SPOTLESS   AND   FEARLESS. 

chenii3  and  of  Chantemerle  ;  the  first  a  native  of  Dau- 
phiny,  nephew  of  the  illustrious  Montolson,  and  the 
other  from  Beausse,  a  nephew  of  the  Lord  of  Lude. 
On  their  leaving,  Bayard  exhorted  them  to  signalize 
themselves,  and  to  get  themselves  a  name.  "The 
place  you  are  going  to,"  said  he,  "  is  well  fortified  and 
strong,  and  you  are  going  to  fight  in  the  service  of  a 
lady  ;  you  ought  to  make  yourselves  worthy  of  her 
good  graces  ;  and  if  the  place  is  besieged  you  will  have 
the  honour  of  keeping  it  for  her." 

After  other  encouraging  words,  he  escorted  his  com- 
pany on  horseback  to  the  town,  and  saw  them  enter  it. 
They  were  received  by  the  lady  and  the  count  with  all 
possible  joy  and  honours.  Three  days  after,  the  place 
was  besieged.  The  artillery  was  planted  on  the  borders 
of  the  ditch,  and  fired  without  intermission  ;  while  that 
of  the  town  answered  in  like  manner,  and  the  besieged 
did  not  appear  afraid  of  the  pope's  forces. 

Bayard,  who  had  spies  everywhere,  and  was  well 
served  because  he  paid  well,  knew  every  day  exactly 
what  was  passing  at  Santo  Felice  in  the  pope's  camp. 
One  of  these  spies,  having  informed  him  that  the  pope 
intended  to  set  out  shortly  to  come  and  command  the 
siege  of  La  Mirandola  in  person,  he  sent  him  back  to 
find  out  the  precise  time  at  which  he  would  start.  The 
spy  returned,  and  told  him  that  it  would  be  on  the 
morning  of  the  next  day. 

The  good  knight,  without  fail,  without  fear,  and 
without  reproach,  charmed  at  this  news,  determined  to 

^  Marin  de  Montchenu,  the  favourite  of  Francis  I,  and  after- 
wards tirst  steward  of  his  household.  He  followed  this  prince 
(not  because  he  was  a  prisoner,  but  simply  on  account  of  his 
attachment)  in  his  captivity  at  Madrid,  after  the  fatal  battle  of 
Pavia. 


LIFE    OF   BAVAED.  107 

make  a  bold  stroke,  and  carry  off  the  pope  and  all  his 
court. 

He  -went  to  the  Duke  of  Ferrara's,  where  he  found 
the  Lord  of  ]\Iontoison.  "  I  am  informed,"  he  told 
them,  "  that  to  -morrow  the  pope  leaves  his  camp  at 
Santo  Felice,  to  go  to  that  of  La  Mirandola,  six  miles 
distant.  I  have  a  plan  that  I  have  come  to  propose  to 
you,  and  if  you  agree  to  it,  it  will  be  talked  of  a 
hundred  years  hence  ;  it  is  this  :  At  two  miles  from 
Santo  Felice  I  know  of  two  or  three  large  palaces, 
abandoned  on  account  of  the  war.  With  100  men-at- 
arms  of  my  choice,  I  will  place  myself  in  ambush  in 
one  of  these  palaces,  and  to-morrow  morning,  when  the 
pope  leaves,  carry  him  off.  I  know  that  he  will  only 
be  escorted  by  some  cardinals,  some  bishops  and  pro- 
thonotaries,  with  100  men  of  his  guard ;  so  before  the 
alarm  shall  have  reached  his  camp,  I  will  bring  him  here 
to  you.  But  to  help  me,  in  case  of  accident,  it  will  be 
necessary,  my  lord,"  he  said,  turning  to  the  duke,  "that 
you  and  the  Lord  of  Montoison  should  cross  the  bridge 
at  break  of  day  with  the  rest  of  the  soldiery,  and  that 
you  should  advance  to  four  or  five  miles  from  here." 
This  plan  was  approved  of;  there  was  nothing  now  but 
to  put  it  in  execution,  which  was  not  delayed  a  moment : 
for  Bayard,  having  taken  his  100  picked  men,  put  them 
in  battle  order,  as  if  they  were  marching  to  an  action, 
and  in  this  manner  they  travelled  all  night,  having  the 
spy  for  a  guide.  He  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  lodged 
in  one  of  the  palaces  before  day,  without  having  been 
met  or  discovered  by  man  or  woman. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

[T  daybreak  the  pope  got  into  a  litter,  and 
took  the  road  to  his  camp  at  La  Mi- 
randola.  His  prothonotaries,  secretaries, 
and  other  household  officers  had  set  out 
before  him  to  prepare  his  apartments.  When  Bayard 
saw  this  cortege  he  fell  upon  it  without  loss  of  time,  but 
they  drew  bridle,  and  ran  as  fast  as  all  their  legs  could 
carry  them,  to  take  the  alarm  to  Santo  Felice.  That 
was  not  what  saved  the  pope,  however  ;  fortunately  for 
him,  as  soon  as  he  had  entered  his  litter,  and  before  he 
was  a  hundred  steps  from  Santo  Felice,  it  snowed  so 
heavily  that  the  Cardinal  of  Pavia,  (Felix  Alidosi),  his 
prime  minister,  represented  to  him  that  the  severity  of 
the  weather  would  not  allow  of  the  journey,  and  ad- 
vised him  to  return,  to  which  the  pope  consented. 

As  bad  luck  would  have  it,  the  fugitives  arrived  dis- 
concerted and  out  of  breath  just  as  the  pope  reached 
the  castle,  and  the  good  knight  Bayard  the  town  ;  for 
the  latter,  only  desiring  one  object,  did  not  stop  to 
amuse  himself  with  taking  other  prisoners. 

The  pope  was  so  frightened  at  their  cries  that  he 
jumped  out  of  his  litter  without  assistance,  and  himself 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  109 

helped  to  raise  the  bridge.  There  was  no  time  to  lose, 
for  in  an  instant  later  he  would  have  been  caught  up 
and  taken  prisoner. 

However  mortified  Bayard  might  be  at  this  mishap, 
he  had  no  other  plan  but  to  return.  He  knew,  how- 
ever, that  the  castle  was  worth  nothing,  and  that  he 
should  have  it  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour ;  but  having  no 
artillery,  and  no  time  to  send  for  it,  he  was  fearful  that 
the  alarm  taken  to  the  camp  of  La  Mirandola  should 
result  in  assistance  to  the  pope,  help  that  he  did  not 
think  it  necessary  to  wait  for.  So  he  took  the  road  to 
Ferrara  with  as  many  prisoners  as  he  chose,  amongst  which 
were  two  bishops,  and  a  great  number  of  baggage  mules, 
which  last  his  soldiers  had  the  benefit  of.  Bayard  was 
inconsolable  at  the  failure  of  this  well-laid  plan.  The 
Dukes  of  Ferrara  and  Montoison,  whom  he  found  at  the 
appointed  meeting-place  with  their  escort,  were  not  less 
grieved  when  he  gave  them  his  account  of  it.  How- 
ever, they  showed  him  that  the  evil  was  without  remedy  ; 
that  his  plan  was  admirable,  and  that  chance  alone  had 
hindered  its  success.  They  led  him  back  with  them  to 
the  camp,  and  on  the  way  they  sent  back  several  of  their 
prisoners  on  foot,  and  afterwards  liberated  the  two 
bishops  for  a  moderate  ransom. 

The  pope  was  so  much  frightened  at  the  danger  he 
had  run,  that  he  shook  as  if  he  had  the  ague  for  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  the  following  night  he  sent  a  special 
messenger  to  fetch  his  nephew  the  Duke  of  Urbino,  who 
joined  him  with  400  men-at-arms  to  conduct  him  to  the 
camp  at  La  Mirandola.  A^Tien  he  was  there  he  carried 
on  the  siege  so  vigorously  that  the  place  was  forced  to 
give  up.  The  same  luck  which  had  left  him  his  liberty 
rendered  him  master  of  it,  for  during  the  siege  the  snow 
fell  for  iix  successive   days  and  nights,  and  so  abun- 


no      SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

(lantly  that  it  lay  on  tlie  ground  within  the  camp  to  the 
height  of  a  man.  To  the  snow  succeeded  such  a  severe 
frost,  that  the  moats  of  La  Mirandola  were  two  feet 
thick  in  ice,  and  a  cannon  with  its  carriage,  which  fell 
upon  it,  could  not  break  it. 

The  pope's  artillery  had  already  made  two  wide 
breaches,  so  that  the  countess  and  the  Count  Alexander, 
having  no  hope  of  help,  were  obliged  to  capitulate. 
They  knew  that  the  grand  master  of  Chaumont  was  at 
lleggio  with  the  rest  of  the  French  army  fortifying 
that  place,  not  doubting  that  after  the  reduction  of 
La  Mirandola  the  pope  might  attack  it  with  all  his 
forces,  which  had  become  considerable  by  the  union  of 
the  Spanish  and  Venetian  troops  with  it.  They  asked 
by  the  capitulation  that  the  town  having  surrendered 
to  the  pope,  he  should  promise  that  the  garrison  and 
inhabitants  should  have  their  lives  saved,  but  he  wished 
all  to  give  themselves  up  at  discretion.  However  the 
Duke  of  Urbino  was  the  mediator,  and  treated  to  the 
satisfaction  of  both  parties.  The  pope  would  not  have 
been  so  merciful  had  it  not  been  for  the  friendship  he  felt 
for  his  nephew,  whose  heart  was  entirely  in  favour  of 
the  French,  and  who  remembered  with  gratitude  the 
kindness  that  the  reigning  king,  whose  page  he  had  been, 
had  shown  to  him.  The  holy  father  did  not  condescend 
to  enter  La  Mirandola  by  the  gate ;  he  had  a  bridge 
made  on  the  moat,  and  entered  there  by  the  breach. 

The  news  of  this  taking  grieved  the  Duke  of  Ferrara 
and  all  the  French  generals.  This  prince,  little  doubt- 
ing that  he  should  be  incessantly  besieged  in  his  capital, 
broke  the  bridge,  and  shut  himself  up  in  it  with  all  his 
troops,  resolved  to  defend  himself  to  the  last  extremity. 
In  fact  Julius  was  no  sooner  quiet  in  La  Mirandola 
than  he  assembled  a  council  of  war,  at  which  the  Duka 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  iii 

of  llrbino  and  all  the  cavalry  and  infantry  offi(;ers  of  the 
army  assisted,  and  declared  before  them  all  that,  without 
losing  a  moment,  he  would  lay  siege  to  Ferrara.  He 
asked  them  their  advice  as  to  the  manner  of  this  ex- 
pedition, taking  into  consideration  that  the  place  was 
strong  in  itself,  and  that  it  was  provided  with  good 
troops  and  numerous  artillery.  He  added  that  the  best 
means  of  reducing  it  would  be  to  cut  off  the  provisions, 
and  staf  ve  it  out,  which  would  not  be  difficult,  as  he  was 
master  of  the  upper  passage  of  the  Po,  provided  the 
Venetians  would  guard  the  lower.  Every  one  said 
what  he  liked  for  or  against  this  plan ;  when  the  turn 
of  one  of  the  captains  of  the  republic,  named  Giovanni 
Forti,  came,  he  spoke  to  the  pope,  and  said  to  him  : — 

"  Very  Holy  Father,  following  the  plan  of  your  holiness, 
and  the  opinions  of  all  those  who  have  spoken,  it  should 
appear  very  easy  to  starve  Ferrara  by  guarding  the 
upper  and  lower  passages  of  the  To ;  but  I  know  the 
country  well  enough  to  be  certain  that  the  place  could 
obtain  sufficient  subsistence  from  Argenta, — we  could, 
however,  cut  off  even  this  resource  ;  on  the  other  side 
there  is  a  country  that  they  call  the  Polesine  of  St. 
George,  so  rich  that  it  alone  would  nourish  the  town  for 
one  year.  Now,  it  will  be  difficult  to  break  off  com- 
munication with  it,  if  your  holiness  does  not  get  rid  of  a 
little  town  at  twenty  miles  from  Ferrara,  named  La 
Bastia,  which,  once  taken,  I  warrant  the  place  starved 
out  in  less  than  two  months,  considering  the  number  of 
people  shut  up  in  it." 

The  captain  had  hardly  finished  speaking,  when  the 
pope  cried  out  that  they  must  have  La  Bastia,  and  that 
they  should  have  no  rest  until  the  place  was  theirs ; 
and  he  instantly  gave  the  commission  to  two  Spanish 
captains,  who  were  each  to  lead  100  men-at-arms,  and 


112  SPOTLESS    AND   FEARLESS. 

to  the  Captain  Forti  with  500  horses  and  from  5000  to 
6000  foot-soldiers.  He  gave  them  besides  six  pieces  of 
heavy  artillery. 

All  this  large  train  of  artillery  set  out  in  haste,  arrived 
before  the  place  without  hindrance,  and  surprised  the 
governor,  who  did  not  expect  to  be  besieged,  more 
especially  by  such  a  formidable  army.  However,  he 
resolved  to  defend  himself  well — as  well  as  he  could 
with  such  a  feeble  garrison  as  his,  and  he  sent  a  special 
messenger  to  his  master,  to  inform  him  of  the  extremity 
in  which  he  found  himself.  The  pope's  men  did  not  lose 
a  moment.  As  soon  as  they  had  arrived,  they  planted 
their  artillery,  and  began  making  a  breach. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

HE  courier  that  the  governor  had  at  first 
sent  secretly  to  the  duke  marched  with 
such  diligence  that  he  was  at  Ferrara  in  six 
hours.  Bayard  met  him  at  the  gate  by 
which  he  entered,  and  had  him  brought  forward  to  know 
who  he  was,  whence  he  came,  and  what  his  business  at 
Ferrara  was. 

This  man  gave  him  a  faithful  account  of  his  commis- 
sion, of  the  arrival  of  from  7000  to  8000  men  before  La 
Bastia,  and  finished  up  by  saying  that  the  governor 
sent  word  to  the  duke  that  if  he  were  not  speedily 
assisted,  he  could  not  hold  out  twenty-four  hours. 

"  What ! "  cried  Bayard,  "  is  the  place  so  bad  as 
that?" 

"  Xo,  my  lord,"  replied  the  messenger,  "  it  is  one  of 
the  best  places  in  Italy,  but  there  are  only  twenty-five 
men  within,  who  are  not  in  a  state  to  resist,  especially  if 
their  enemies  give  the  assault." 

Upon  that  Bayard  led  him  to  the  duke,  whom  he 
found  on  horseback  in  the  market-place,  in  company 
with  Montoison. 

This  latter,  believing  that  the  knight  had  a  spy,  cried 
out  to  him  from  a  distance,  "  ^ly  companion,  you  would 


114  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

sooner  die  than  pass  a  day  without  capturing  some  of 
the  enemy.  How  much  is  this  prisoner  going  to  pay  for 
his  ransom  ?  " 

"  He  is  not  an  enemy,"  said  Bayard,  "  he  brings 
strange  news  for  my  lord." 

The  messenger  gave  the  duke  the  letters  of  the 
governor  of  La  Bastia,  who  immediately  began  read- 
ing them.  At  every  word  he  changed  colour  ;  they  saw 
him  grow  red  and  white  by  turns. 

When  he  had  finished  reading  the  letter,  he  said, 
with  a  sorrowful  air,  "  If  I  lose  La  Bastia,  I  may  also 
abandon  Ferrara,  and  I  do  not  see  any  means  of  giving 
help  there  in  the  time  that  my  commander  points  out ; 
for  he  asks  it  for  to-morrow,  and  that  is  absolutely  im- 
possible, taking  into  consideration  that  it  is  twenty 
miles  from  here  to  La  Bastia,  and  more  than  that,  there 
is  a  defile  half  a  mile  long,  where  only  one  man  can  pass 
at  a  time,  and  if  my  enemies  knew  of  another  pass  which 
is  on  the  road,  with  twenty  men  they  could  stop  10,000  ; 
but  I  do  not  think  they  know  of  it." 

Bayard,  seeing  the  prince  in  consternation,  and  with 
so  much  reason  for  it,  said  to  him,  "  My  lord,  for  great 
evils  we  must  have  great  remedies.  When  a  little 
thing  is  in  hand,  we  may  leave  it  to  chance ;  but  when 
ruin  is  before  us,  we  ought  to  employ  our  most  strenu- 
ous efforts  to  ward  it  off.  Your  enemies  believe  them- 
selves in  safety  before  La  Bastia,  because  they  imagine 
that  the  pope's  army,  which  is  not  far  from  here,  will 
hinder  our  going  to  pay  them  a  visit.  An  idea  occurs 
to  me  of  a  plan,  which  I  do  not  think  it  will  be  difficult 
to  execute,  and  which,  if  it  succeeded,  would  do  us 
great  honour.  You  have  in  this  town  4000  or  5000 
good  troops,  experienced  soldiers.  Take  2000  of  them, 
with  the  800  Swiss  of  the  Captain  Zemberc,  and  make 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  115 

them  embark  to-night.  You  are  still  master  of  the  Po  as 
far  as  Argenta.  Order  them  to  go  and  await  us  at  the 
passage  of  which  you  have  just  spoken,  and  to  take  it  from 
them,  if  they  are  arrived  before  us.  The  gendarmerie 
will  march  all  night  by  land,  with  good  guides,  and  will 
be  there  to-morrow  at  sunrise,  and  join  us.  The  enemy 
will  never  suspect  our  march.  You  say  that  from  this 
passage  to  La  Bastia  is  only  three  miles;  that  being  so, 
without  giving  them  time  to  range  themselves  in  battle 
order,  we  will  fall  upon  them.  1  have  an  idea  that  we 
shall  succeed." 

All  the  gold  in  the  world  would  not  have  been  so 
acceptable  to  the  duke,  as  the  advice  Bayard  had  just 
given  him. 

"  My  lord  Bayard,"  he  cried,  transported  with  joy, 
"  you  find  nothing  difficult,  and  I  do  not  doubt  that  if 
all  the  French  lords  who  are  here  will  help  us,  we  shall 
destroy  the  pope's  army,"  and,  added  he,  taking  his  hat 
ofi",  "  I  beg  them  to  do  so  with  all  my  heart." 

"  There  is  no  necessity  for  that,"  replied  the  brave 
Montoison.  "  Order,  and  you  shall  be  obeyed,  for  the 
king,  our  master,  told  us  so  to  do.  The  lords  of  Lude 
and  Fontrailles  say  the  same,  and  they  are  not  men  to 
retract." 

At  the  same  time  they  sent  for  the  captains  of  the 
foot-soldiers,  who  were  in  the  same  mind,  and  charmed 
with  the  idea  of  the  expedition. 

The  duke  secretly  prepared  a  number  of  boats,  and 
made  all  his  foot-soldiers  embark  in  them  that  evening, 
with  good  and  skilful  sailors.  The  cavalry  set  out  at 
the  approach  of  night,  the  duke  at  their  head,  with  good 
guides,  who  led  them  so  well  that,  notwithstanding  the 
bad  weather,  half  an  hour  before  daybreak  they  arrived 
without  any  obstacle  or  mishap  at  the  passage  where 


ii6  SPOTLESS    AND   FEARLESS. 

they  were  to  meet  the  others.  At  break  of  day  the 
boats  with  the  foot-soldiers  arrived  also.  When  all 
were  assembled,  they  marched  noiselessly  towards  the 
difficult  passage,  which  was  a  little  bridge,  so  narrow 
that  only  one  knight  could  pass  at  a  time,  and  it  was 
over  a  very  deep  torrent  between  the  Po  and  La  Bastia. 
They  were  an  hour  crossing,  so  that  it  was  quite  light 
when  they  had  all  arrived  on  the  other  side.  This  cir- 
cumstance lessened  their  chances  of  success  in  the  duke's 
opinion,  and  besides  that,  they  did  not  hear  the  cannon, 
which  made  them  think  the  place  had  surrendered.  But 
while  they  were  talking  with  the  French  captains,  they 
heard  three  cannons  fire  at  once,  which  gave  them  in- 
expressible pleasure. 

They  were  then  at  a  mile  from  the  hostile  army,  and 
Bayard,  addressing  himself  to  the  duke,  said,  "  My  lord, 
I  have  heard  say  that  it  is  not  wise  to  count  your  enemy 
for  nothing.  We  are  very  near  ours,  and  if  they  had 
the  least  knowledge  of  our  march,  they  would  give  us  a 
great  deal  of  trouble,  for  they  are  three  to  our  one. 
They  have  artillery,  and  we  have  none.  Besides,  the 
pope  has  sent  here  the  pick  of  his  troops,  so  we  must  do 
the  best  we  possibly  can  to  surprise  them.  My  advice 
is,  that  the  bastard  Du  Fay,  my  standard-bearer,  a  man 
learned  in  skirmishes,  should  go  and  give  them  the 
alarm  on  the  side  whence  they  have  come,  with  only 
fifteen  or  twenty  horse,  and  the  Captain  Pierrepont-, 
with  100  men-at-arms,  shall  follow  him  at  a  bowshot's 
length  to  sustain  him,  and  at  a  like  distance  the  Captain 
Zemberc  shall  march  with  his  Swiss.  You,  my  lord,  at 
our  head  with  the  Lord  of  Montoison,  and  all  the 
French  captains  that  are  here,  will  march  straight  to 
the  siege,  and  I  will  go  a  little  in  advance  to  give  the 
first  alarm.     If  Du  Fay  attacks  before  us,  and  the  enemy 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  117 

turns  to  his  side,  we  will  put  them  between  him  and  us. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  attack  before  him,  Pierrepont 
and  the  Swiss  will  act  as  we  should  have  done  under 
the  same  circumstances.  By  that  means  they  will  be 
astonished,  and  will  think  our  number  three  times  as 
large  as  it  is ;  and  our  trumpets  must  make  as  much 
noise  as  they  possibly  can." 

This  arrangement  having  been  approved  of  by  every 
one,  they  agreed  to  follow  the  advice ;  and  they  set  out 
on  their  march  from  opposite  points.  The  prince's  de- 
tachment arrived  at  a  cannon-shot  from  the  place,  and 
neither  party  was  yet  discovered. 

Du  Fay  commenced  by  giving  a  loud  alarm  from  his 
side,  which  surprised  all  the  enemy's  camp  greatly. 
They  immediately  put  themselves  under  arms,  and 
mounted  their  horses  to  go  straight  to  him,  while  their 
foot-soldiers  ranged  themselves  in  battle  order ;  but, 
fortunately  for  the  Duke  of  Ferrara,  they  did  not  give 
them  the  time.  Those  who  repulsed  Du  Fay  had 
hardly  taken  200  steps  when  Pierrepont  attacked  them 
from  the  side,  and  broke  them.  The  Swiss  immediately 
fell  upon  the  foot-soldiers,  who  were  from  5000  to  6000 
in  number.  They  had  not  much  success  at  first,  and 
would  hav«  been  undoubtedly  forced  to  yield  to  num- 
bers, had  it  not  been  for  the  cavalry,  which  sustained 
them,  and  took  this  infantry  on  the  flank.  Then 
the  duke,  at  the  head  of  the  French  men-at-arms, 
commanded  by  Montoison,  Du  Lude,  Fontrailles,  and 
Bayard,  and  with  200  foot-soldiers  attacked  the  enemy 
in  the  rear,  and  completely  defeated  them.  While  these 
deeds  were  being  done,  Fontrailles  and  Bayard  per- 
ceived a  body  of  from  300  to  400  knights,  who  tried  to 
rally.  They  called  their  men  together  promptly,  who, 
v/    without  givinor  their  enemies  time  to  recosrnize  them, 


ii8  SPOTLESS   AND   FEARLESS. 

charged  them  crying,  "France!  France!  duke!  duke!" 
and  upset  the  greater  part  of  them.  The  rest  of  their 
army  sustained  the  shock  for  nearly  an  hour,  not- 
withstanding the  slaughter,  but  finally  their  defeat  was 
so  complete  that  very  few  escaped.  Five  thousand  foot- 
soldiers  and  more  than  sixty  men-at-arms,  all  the  bag- 
gage, all  the  artillery,  and  more  than  three  hundred 
horses,  remained  to  the  conquerors,  with  so  much  plunder 
that  it  was  quite  embarrassing. 


CHAPTER  XIY. 


iHIS  victory  of  La  Bastia  was  the  salvation 
of  the  Duke  of  Ferrara,  and  the  French, 
who,  under  other  circumstances,  had  been  lost. 
They  all  returned  to  Ferrara  glorious  and 
triumphant,  and  were  received  there  with  shouting  and 
acclamation  by  the  people.  The  duchess  especially  gave 
them  the  reception  due  to  their  success,  and  during 
their  stay  regaled  them  with  continual  festivals  and 
amusements.  We  have  spoken  of  the  virtues  and 
talents  of  the  duke.  The  duchess,  his  wife,  was  not 
less  worthy  of  praise.  She  was  Anne  Sforza,  daughter 
of  Galeas  Mai'ie,  Duke  of  Milan,  and  Bonne  of  Savoy, 
daughter  of  the  Duke  Louis.  Nature  had  bestowed 
upon  her  more  gifts  and  graces  than  upon  any  other 
woman  of  her  age.  She  spoke  and  composed  equally 
well  in  Italian,  French,  Latin,  and  Greek,  and  contri- 
buted not  a  little  to  the  glory  of  her  husband  and  his 
house.  They  had  one  son,  Hercules  II,  Duke  of 
Ferrara,  who  married  Madame  Eenee,  second  daughter 
of  the  king. 

We  are  compelled  to  interrupt  the  course  of  our 
narrative  for  a  short  time  to  do  homage  to  the  rare 
talents  of  our  hero.     The  Duke  of  Ferrara  owed  to  him 


I20  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

the  safety  of  his  estates.  The  French  army  was  no  less 
under  an  obligation  to  him,  for  it  would  undoubtedly 
have  been  lost  if  the  pope  had  succeeded  in  his  plans, 
in  league  as  he  was  with  the  Spanish  and  the  Venetians. 
What  wonderful  presence  of  mind  at  the  news  of  the 
siege  of  La  Bastia !  what  coolness  in  seeking  for  a 
remedy  !  what  promptitude  in  finding  it !  what  wisdom 
in  its  development !  finally,  what  a  display  of  sagacity 
and  generalship  in  its  execution  !  But  it  is  impossible 
^;ufficiently  to  praise  Bayard  for  the  part  he  performed 
on  this  memorable  occasion.  He  had  never  seen  La 
Bastia  nor  its  environs,  nor  the  local  situation  of  the 
Po  ;  but  he  had  a  perfect  knowledge  of  it  nevertheless. 
Without  this  knowledge  he  could  never  have  conceived 
and  carried  into  execution  a  plot  so  complicated,  and 
upon  the  success  of  which  depended  the  saving  of  the 
duke  and  of  his  estates,  and  that  of  the  army  of  the 
king  himself. 

A  few  months  after  the  great  event  just  recorded, 
Philibert  de  Clermont,  Lord  of  Montoison,  died  at 
Ferrara,  of  a  fever,  which  carried  him  ofi"  in  a  few  days. 
He  was  lieutenant-general  of  the  French  army  in  Italy, 
and  one  of  the  greatest  captains  of  his  age.  He  dis- 
tinguished himself  greatly  in  Picarcly,  Bretagne,  Lom- 
bardy,  and  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  He  had  gained 
great  advantages  over  the  Swiss,  particularly  at  the 
Lake  of  Como.  He  was  praised  amongst  other  qualities 
for  the  singular  precision  he  showed  in  deciding  the 
number  of  a  hostile  army,  however  far  it  might  be  from 
him.  The  king  was  full  of  regret  at  his  death.  He 
looked  upon  him  as  the  first  of  his  captains,  and  feared 
that  his  death  would  occasion  a  revolt  in  the  duchy  of 
Milan.  He  was  much  regretted  by  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Ferrara,  and  by  all  the  ofiicers,  both  French 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD. 


and  Italian  ;  but  Bayard  wept  for  him,  his  particular 
friend  and  hi<  countryman.^ 

If  the  deliverance  of  La  Bastia  was  glorious  happi- 
ness for  the  French,  it  was  equally  intolerable  misery  to 
the  pope,  who  was  furious  when  he  received  news  of  it. 
He  swore  to  be  avenged,  and  wished  to  go  immediately 
and  lay  siege  to  Ferrara ;  but  his  generals  tried  by  all 
means  in  their  power  to  turn  him  from  his  intention. 
His  nephew,  the  Duke  of  Urbino,  especially  was  loud  in 
dispraise  of  such  a  proceeding,  as  he  wished  to  see  his 
uncle  reconciled  to  the  king  of  France.  They  repre- 
sented to  him  that  the  place  was  strong  in  itself,  well 
furnished  with  artillery,  and  full  of  good  officers,  of 
whom  the  invincible  Bayard  was  one ;  that  he  would 
not  only  lose  his  men,  but  have  great  difficulty  in 
obtaining  ammunition  and  provisions. 

Julius,  obliged  to  give  up  the  idea  of  taking  the  place 
by  force,  plotted  to  have  it  by  surprise,  making  use  of 
spies  upon  whom  he  thought  he  could  rely,  and  by 
whose  means  he  hoped  to  get  one  of  the  gates  opened 
secretly  in  the  night. 

He  sent  spies,  therefore,  charged  to  draw  the  sentinel:? 
from  their  duty ;  but  the  duke  and  the  knight  were  so 
wary  that  they  arrested  six  or  seven  of  these  spies,  who 

'  They  were  both  from  the  same  canton,  in  the  province  of 
Dauphiny.  Montoison  was  captain  of  fifty  men-at-arms,  and 
one  of  the  most  illustrious  warriors  of  his  heroic  age.  He  was 
the  originator  of  the  device  that  descended  to  his  posterity,  a  la 
recousse,  3Iontoison,  "  to  the  rescue,  Montoison,"  on  the  occasion 
of  the  battle  of  Fornova,  when  Charles  VIII,  seeing  a  wing  of 
his  army  tottering,  and  ready  to  break,  cried  To  ihe  rescue, 
Montoison  !  Montoison,  who  was  in  command  of  the  rear-guard, 
went  at  once,  and  charged  the  enemy  so  vigorously  that  he 
decided  the  gain  of  the  battle.  This  brave  man  belonged  to  a 
cadet  branch  of  the  house  of  Clermont  Tonnerre. 


122  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

were  hanged.  However,  the  Duke  of  Ferrara  enter- 
tamed  suspicions  (perhaps  wrongfully)  of  some  of  the 
gentlemen  of  the  town,  amongst  others  of  the  Count 
Borse  of  the  house  of  Calcagnini,  with  whom  Bayard 
had  once  lodged,  and  at  whose  detention  he  was  much 
grieved  ;  but  he  felt  that  in  the  uncertain  state  of  affairs 
it  would  not  be  prudent  to  interfere. 

The  pope's  plan  of  taking  Ferrara  by  treason  not 
being  more  satisfactory  than  his  wish  to  besiege  it,  he 
imagined  a  third  scheme,  which  was  truly  horrible.  It 
was  his  intention  to  endeavour  to  enlist  the  Duke  of 
Ferrara  on  his  side  against  the  French,  who  had  always 
been  the  duke's  best  friends  and  most  valuable  allies. 
Julius  had  in  his  service  a  gentleman  of  Lodi,  in  the 
Duchy  of  Milan,  named  Augustin  Guerlo,  a  celebrated 
intriguer,  and  a  man  always  more  ready  to  do  a  treason- 
able than  a  good  action.  The  pope  sent  for  him  one 
day,  and  charged  him  to  go  secretly  to  the  Duke  of 
Ferrara,  and  tell  him  that  if  he  would  ally  himself  with 
him,  for  the  purpose  of  utterly  destroying  the  French, 
he  would  give  one  of  his  nieces  to  his  eldest  son  in  mar- 
riage, with  the  title  of  Gonfalonier  and  Captain-general  of 
the  church,  and  bind  to  him  for  ever  the  estates  and  pos- 
sessions which  had  been  the  causes  of  quarrels  between 
them.  "  It  will  be  only  necessary,"  Julius  continued, 
"for  him  to  give  the  French  their  leave,  and  tell  them  that 
he  has  no  further  occasion  for  their  services,  and  as  they 
must  pass  my  territory  on  their  return,  my  intention  is, 
not  to  let  one  escape  me." 

Guerlo  found  the  commission  very  much  to  his  taste, 
and  undertook  it  immediately,  promising  the  pope  to 
acquit  himself  to  his  satisfaction.  He  went  to  Ferrara. 
and  addressed  himself  at  once  to  the  Duke,  who  listened 
to  him  calmly,  and  without  showing  any  of  the  intense 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  123 

horror  he  felt  at  such  a  dastardly  proposal ;  on  the  con- 
trary, he  pretended  to  the  messenger  that  he  would  wil- 
lingly comply  with  the  pope's  wishes,  though  nothing  was 
further  from  his  intention,  and  he  would  have  preferred 
losing  all  his  estates,  and  death  even,  to  acting  inamanner 
so  treacherous  and  ungrateful,  and  unworthy  of  himself. 
However,  he  received  the  messenger  well,  and  had  him 
apparently  well  treated ;  but  he  ordered  him  to  be 
taken  to  a  room,  of  which  he  shut  the  door,  and  took 
away  the  key,  and,  accompanied  by  only  one  gentleman, 
proceeded  at  once  to  Bayard's  lodgings. 

The  tale  of  the  evil  design  of  Julius  made  the  good 
knight  shudder,  as  well  it  might ;  in  fact,  the  plot  ap- 
peared to  him  so  thoroughly  detestable  that  he  hesitated 
to  believe  it  at  first.  But  the  duke  offered  to  convince 
him,  if  he  would  return  to  his  palace  with  him,  by 
placing  him  in  a  cabinet,  whence  he  could  hear  Guerlo 
repeat  the  pope's  commission  word  for  word,  assuring 
him  that,  after  the  tokens  the  envoy  had  given  him,  he 
could  not  doubt  that  he  was  really  sent  by  the  pope ; 
"  but,"  added  he,  "  when  I  heard  it  I  shuddered  with 
horror  as  you  do.  I  know  the  obligations  my  ancestors 
were  under  to  the  kings  of  France,  and  myself  more 
than  all  to  the  reigning  king,  and  rather  than  repay 
their  services  by  such  vile  treason,  I  would  consent  to 
be  bound  to  four  horses,  and  torn  limb  from  limb." 

Bayard  told  him  that  he  had  no  reason  to  justify  him- 
self, that  he  knew  his  greatness  of  mind  too  well  to  fear 
that  any  surprise  could  happen  to  the  French,  at  least 
with  his  consent,  and  that  he  felt  himself  as  safe  in 
Ferrara  as  at  Paris. 

Then  the  duke  proposed  to  act  somewhat  as  the  pope 
had  done,  and  to  repay  his  intended  good  turn  by  one 
somewhat   simdar,   and,   without    explaining   what   he 


124  SPOTLESS   AND   FEARLESS. 

meant,  he  returned  to  the  palace,  where  he  conversed 
with  Guerlo  some  time  without  coming  to  the  point. 
At  last  he  said,  "  I  fear  the  holy  father's  scheme  is  not 
practicable  for  two  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  how  can 
he  expect  me  to  trust  him,  after  he  has  told  me  a  hun- 
dred times  that  I  am  the  man  he  hates  the  most  in  the 
world,  and  that  if  he  had  me  in  his  power  he  would 
murder  me  ;  and  I  know  besides  that  he  has  no  other 
motive  than  to  obtain  possession  of  my  town  and  estates. 
In  the  second  place,  how  can  I  have  the  assurance  to 
declare  to  the  Lord  Bayard  and  the  other  French  cap- 
tains that  their  aid  is  useless,  and  that  they  must  leave  ? 
They  are  twice  as  strong  as  I  am  here  ;  they  will  take 
time  to  inform  the  king  or  his  lieutenant-general,  the 
grandmaster  of  Chaumont ;  and  if  while  waiting  their 
orders,  they  hear  of  my  understanding  with  the  pope, 
they  will  have  a  right  to  treat  me  as  a  man  without 
faith,  and  perhaps  an  enemy,  or  at  least  they  will 
leave  me,  and  I  shall  find  myself  exposed  on  all  sides. 
But,  Signor  Guerlo,  you  know  the  pope  is  a  terrible, 
furious,  and  vindictive  man.  He  has  spoken  one  thing 
to  you,  and  possibly  thinks  another,  and  he  is  quite 
capable  of  paying  you  treacherously  on  the  first  day  of 
your  services.  Besides,  he  is  mortal,  and  when  he  is 
dead  what  reward  will  you  have  from  his  successors  ? 
Are  you  not  aware  that  in  that  court  gratitude  for  ser- 
vices does  not  pass  from  one  pope  to  another  ?  You 
know  that  I  am  in  a  position  to  do  you  good,  and  I  give 
you  my  word  that  I  will  do  it  so  generously  that  you  shall 
be  at  ease  for  the  rest  of  your  life,  if  you  will  help  me 
to  defeat  my  enemy." 

Guerlo  was  too  low-minded  and  interested  to  refuse 
such  propositions.  He  assured  the  prince  that  for  a  long 
time  he  had  resolved  to  leave  the  pope's  service  for  his, 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  125 

if  he  agreed  to  it ;  that  no  one  was  more  able  than  he 
to  do  what  he  wished,  being  day  and  night  with  the 
pope,  serving  him  at  table,  and  being  so  much  in  his 
confidence  that  they  talked  together  alone  of  the  most 
secret  matters." 

"  So,  my  lord,"  he  added,  "  if  you  will  make  it  worth 
my  while,  he  shall  not  be  alive  in  eight  days  from  this. 
I  ask  for  no  reward  till  after  his  death ;  but  I  must 
have  your  word  that  when  that  takes  place  I  shall  be 
well  remembered." 

The  duke,  who  had  already  given  him  his  word,  con- 
firmed it  on  his  honour,  and  they  agreed  that  Guerlo 
should  receive  2000  ducats  down,  and  500  ducats 
a  year. 

The  treaty  concluded,  the  duke  left  the  messenger  to 
inform  Bayard  of  what  had  happened.  He  found  him 
on  the  ramparts,  and,  having  drawn  him  aside,  said  to 
him,  "  You  know  that  traitors  and  deceivers  often  fall 
into  their  own  traps.  You  and  I,  and  all  the  French, 
shall  soon  be  avenged  on  our  enemy.  I  have  gained 
over  the  pope's  commissioner,  and  I  have  his  word  that 
in  eight  days  his  master  shall  be  a  dead  man." 

"  How  can  that  be,"  cried  Bayard,  "  does  this  man  so 
enter  into  the  secrets  of  Providence  that  he  can  predict 
the  precise  time  of  life  or  death  ?  " 

"  Do  not  disturb  yourself,"  the  duke  replied,  "  I  am 
very  certain  of  what  I  have  just  said." 

Bayard's  heart  was  too  pure  to  suspect  the  truth;  but, 
having  finally  learnt  that  Guerlo  was  to  poison  the  pope, 
he  trembled,  and  manifested  his  great  surprise  at  the 
duke,  wondered  how  such  a  plot  could  have  originated 
with  so  great  a  prince,  and  said  that  if  he  could  think 
such  a  thing  possible,  he  would  warn  the  pope  of  it  that 
very  day. 


126  SPOTLESS    AXD    FEARLESS. 

The  duke  justified  himself  bj  saying  with  what 
horrible  treason  the  pope  had  intended  to  act  towards 
them,  and  reminded  Bayard  how  many  of  his  spies  they 
had  arrested  and  hanged. 

"  Xo  matter,"  said  Bayard,  "  I  can  never  consent  to 
his  perishing  in  that  manner." 

The  duke,  on  the  contrary,  wished  that  all  his  enemies 
might  be  served  the  same;  "but,"  he  added,  "as  you 
oppose  it,  it  shall  not  be,  but  if  God  himself  do  not 
smite  him,  and  that  soon,  you  and  I  will  have  plenty  of 
time  to  repent  our  mercy." 

"  I  hope  not,"  replied  Bayard,  "  and  if  you  will  give 
up  to  me  the  man  who  wishes  to  commit  this  master- 
piece of  villany,  I  will  have  him  hanged  in  less  than 
an  hour." 

The  duke,  who  had  pledged  his  word  to  Guerlo  that 
his  person  should  be  safe,  kept  his  promise,  and  sent 
him  away.  But  the  miserable  wretch  had  not  long  to 
wait  for  the  reward  that  he  merited,  having  been  hanged 
some  time  after  at  Brescia  for  another  crime.  Thus 
Bayard,  who  had  checked  the  plots  of  the  pope  against 
the  duke,  and  the  schemes  of  the  duke  against  the  pope, 
saved  the  l-fe  of  the  one  and  the  honour  and  estates  of 
the  other. 


CHAPTER  XY. 


ULIUS  remained  some  time  longer  at  La  Mi- 
randola,  then  put  his  troops  in  their  quarters, 
and  returned  to  Rome.  About  this  time  the 
Duke  of  Urbino,  th3  pope's  nephew,  had  a 
(juarrel  with  the  Cardinal  of  Pavia,  the  prime  minister, 
and  killed  him.  How  the  quarrel  arose  is  not  exactly 
known,  but  it  was  imagined  that  the  cardinal  had  ac- 
cused the  young  duke  of  favouring  the  French,  and  in- 
forming them  daily  of  his  uncle's  plans.  The  pope  was 
irritated  at  the  death  of  his  favourite,  but  he  did 
nothing  to  avenge  it.  We  know  well  enough  the  pri- 
vileges belonging  to  the  position  of  nephew  to  the  pope. 
In  the  following  year  (1512)  Trivulce,  who  had 
becom.e  Marshal  of  France,  and  who  was  in  command 
of  the  French  army  in  Lombardy,  re-took  La  Miran- 
dola,  and  gave  it  back  to  the  countess.  Afterwards  he 
drove  the  pope's  army  to  Bologna,  where  he  entirely 
destroyed  it,  and  thought  to  make  the  pontiff  himself 
prisoner.  This  victory  was  remarkable,  inasmuch  as  no 
blood  was  shed.  All  was  taken — men,  artillery,  tents, 
and  baggage.  There  were  some  of  the  French  who  took 
five  or  six  prisoners  single-handed — one  of  them  named 
La  Baume,  who  had  a  wooden  leg,  led  three  bound  toge- 


128  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

ther.  Bayard  acquired  so  much  glory  on  this  extra- 
ordinary day,  that  Marshal  Trivulce  did  not  hesitate  to 
say  on  the  same  evening,  in  presence  of  all  the  officers 
of  the  army,  that  it  was  to  him,  after  God,  that  they 
owed  the  victory. 

Before  this  great  victory  much  had  been  taking  place 
in  Italy ;  but  as  the  events  have  nothing  to  do  with  our 
hero,  we  suppress  them.  We  ought  not,  however,  to 
omit  that  the  emperor,  having  some  places  in  Friuli 
that  the  Venetians  kept  from  him,  asked  help  from 
France  to  recover  them.  The  king  sent  him  1200  men- 
at-arms  and  800  foot- soldiers,  commanded  by  Chabannes, 
who  did  not  forget  to  engage  his  good  friend  Bayard  to 
accompany  him.  This  body  met  the  emperor's  army 
(under  the  orders  of  George  of  Stein,  a  German  lord) 
at  Yerona.  Thence  it  marched  straight  to  Trevisa, 
whence,  not  having  had  great  success,  it  penetrated 
into  Friuli. 

Bayard  at  that  time  was  in  command  of  100  men-at- 
arms,  whom  the  king  had  recently  given  to  the  Duke  of 
Lorraine,  with  the  express  condition  that  the  knight 
should  head  them.  With  this  troop,  accompanied  by 
the  brave  Fontrailles  and  his  men,  and  some  few 
Germans,  they  presented  themselves  before  Gradisca 
and  Goritz,  soon  made  themselves  masters  of  them,  and 
gave  them  up  to  the  emperor's  soldiers  ;  but,  disgusted 
by  the  slowness  of  the  Germans,  they  rejoined  Cha- 
bannes, who,  for  the  same  reason,  was  still  where  they 
had  left  him.  In  this  expedition  they  lost  an  excellent 
officer,  the  Lord  of  Lorges  (of  the  house  of  Mont- 
gomery), who  was  killed  before  Trevisa,  and  who  com- 
manded 1000  foot- soldiers.  Misery  followed,  and  more 
than  4000  men,  French  as  well  as  Grisons,  died  for 
want  of  provisions.     This  state  of  things   determined 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  129 

Chabannes  to  return,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of 
the  emperor's  soldiers,  with  whom  he  had  high  words 
on  this  subject. 

After  Mirandola  had  been  retaken,  and  Ferrara  as- 
sisted as  we  have  seen,  the  Duke  of  Xemours,  with  the 
French  officers,  went  to  see  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of 
Ferrara  in  their  Capital,  and  had  a  reception  worthy  of 
a  prince  who  was  the  nephew  of  a  king,  and  of  the 
great  service  that  the  French  had  rendered  them. 
Amongst  many  sights,  there  was  one  of  which  we  shall 
give  an  account,  less  to  serve  as  a  model  than  to  show 
to  what  excess  of  fury  they  carried  what  they  called 
bravery,  or  a  point  of  honour,  in  those  days.  It  appears 
incredible  that  princes  and  lords,  noted  for  their  birth, 
their  virtues,  their  piety  even,  should  lend  themselves  to 
combats  which  are  revolting  to  nature  and  reason,  as  if 
they  were  legitimate  and  reasonable  acts,  some  fighting, 
others  seconding  them,  others  judging  them,  and  again 
others  looking  on.  We  have  seen  Bayard  himself,  the 
wisest  and  most  virtuous  man  of  his  age,  doing  the  same 
thing.  But  the  most  astonishing  part  is  to  see  the  com- 
batants preparing  themselves  by  prayer  to  fight,  and  the 
conqueror  giving  thanks  to  God  for  having  killed  his 
man. 

Two  Spanish  gentlemen,  the  one  the  Lord  of  St. 
Croix,  the  other  Azevedo,  made  prisoners  at  Bologna, 
had  quarrelled.  Azevedo  accused  St.  Croix  of  having 
wished  to  assassinate  him  treasonably.  St.  Croix  had 
given  him  the  lie,  and  had  offered  to  satisfy  him  by 
mortal  combat.  Azevedo  charged  the  Baron  of  Bearn 
to  obtain  permission  to  fight  from  the  Duke  of  Nemours, 
which  was  granted.  He  then  sent  for  St.  Croix,  who 
accepted  the  challenge  immediately.  The  field  was  pre- 
pared before  the  Duke  of  Ferrara's  palace.     The  second 


I30  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

day  the  champions  appeared.  St.  Croix,  accompanied 
by  100  knights,  amongst  others  by  Dom  Pedro  d'Acugna, 
his  second,  knight  of  Rhodes,  and  grand  prior  of  Messina, 
and  other  lords.  Azevedo  was  attended  by  the  same 
number,  and  his  second,  Frederick  of  Gonzagues,  Count 
of  Bossola.  As  soon  as  Azevedo  had  entered  the  lists, 
armed  with  all  possible  weapons  for  fighting  either  on 
horseback  or  on  foot,  the  grand  prior  of  Messina  ad- 
vanced towards  him,  and  presented  him  with  two  very 
sharp  swords  and  two  poniards,  fi-om  which  he  was  to 
choose,'  St.  Croix  not  intending  to  have  any  other  kind 
of  arms.  After  their  seconds  had  felt  them  to  satisfy 
themselves  that  they  had  no  coats  of  mail  or  other  de- 
fence under  their  clothes,  they  fell  on  their  knees,  and 
said  their  prayers,  and  every  one  left  the  field  but  the 
two  seconds  and  Bayard,  whom  the  Duke  of  Ferrara  had 
appointed  umpire,  not  only  to  honour  him,  but  because 
he  knew  most  about  such  fights.  The  herald  having 
sounded  to  impose  silence,  the  two  adversaries  marched 
proudly  towards  each  other,  and  commenced  fighting. 
Their  strokes  fell  so  thick  and  fast  that  one  did  not  wait 
for  the  other,  and  both  had  need  to  be  watchful  and 
careful  of  their  footing.  After  several  strokes  given  and 
returned  on  both  sides.  Saint  Croix  gave  Azevedo  a 
vigorous  thrust  in  the  face.  Azevedo  took  his  sword 
from  him  very  skilfully,  and  plunged  his  own  in  St. 
Croix's  thigh  downwards,  cutting  him  to  the  bone.  The 
blood  spouted  out,  and  St.  Croix  took  but  one  step,  and 
fell.  Azevedo  cried  out  to  him,  "  Give  yourself  up,  St. 
Croix,  or  I  shall  slay  you;"  but,  without  answering,  he 

'  The  Loyal  Servant  adds,  "  two  secrettes  "  as  well  as  the 
rapiers  and  the  poniards,  and  we  learn  from  Du  Cange  that  the 
secrette  was  a  small  but  very  effective  axe.  See  Glossary, 
vol.  vi.  p.  314,  at  the  word  secures. 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  131 

still  sat  on  the  ground  with  the  sword  in  his  hand,  and 
made  passes  as  if  he  still  fought. 

Azevedo  begged  him  to  get  up,  saying  that  he  would 
not  strike  him  while  he  was  down.  St.  Croix  tried,  but 
he  only  took  two  steps,  and  then  fell  on  his  face,  when 
his  opponent  raised  his  sword  to  cut  off  his  head,  which 
would  have  been  easy  to  do ;  but  he  did  not  strike. 

The  Duchess  of  Ferrara,  frightened  at  this  horrible 
sight,  begged  the  Duke  of  Xemours  to  separate  the 
combatants. 

"  I  cannot  do  it  iu  honour,  madam,"  said  he  to  her. 
"  Right  gives  the  conquered  to  the  victor."  However, 
St.  Croix  lost  all  his  blood,  and  yet  would  not  give  him- 
self up.  The  prior  of  Messina  Avent  to  Azevedo,  and 
said  to  him,  "  My  lord,  I  know  the  heart  of  St.  Croix, 
and  that  he  would  only  give  up  to  death.  I  give  myself 
up  for  him  as  his  second."  Then  they  called  the  surgeon 
to  dress  the  wound,  and  stop  the  blood,  after  which  his 
•people  carried  him  off  in  their  arms.  The  conqueror 
threw  himself  on  his  knees  to  thank  God  for  having 
given  him  the  victory,  and  was  led  in  triumph  to  the 
Duke  of  Nemours'  house  by  those  who  had  accompanied 
him. 

By  the  law  of  victory  the  arms  of  St.  Croix  ^should 
belong  to  Azevedo,  so  he  sent  to  demand  them ;  but 
they  refused  them.  He  complained  of  this  to  the  Duke 
of  Ft-rrara,  who  charged  the  knight  Bayard  to  go  and 
demand  them,  and  make  them  give  them  up  ;  that  other- 
wise St.  Croix  should  be  brought  back  to  the  field,  his 
wound  undressed,  a)id  his  person  abandoned  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  conqueror  The  severity  of  these  con- 
ditions settled  the  matter,  and  his  arms  were  given  up. 

But  it  is  time  to  return  to  our  history.  After  the 
pope's   troops   had   been    driven   from    the   Duchy    of 


132  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

Ferrara,  they  joined  themselves  to  those  of  Spain. 
They  then  came  with  the  intention  of  besieging  Bologna, 
which  siege  they  were  speedily  forced  to  raise.  The 
Venetians,  on  the  other  side,  were  besieging  Verona, 
where  the  Lord  of  Plessis  was  in  command  for  the  king. 
This  place  had  been  given  by  the  emperor  to  the  king 
as  hostage  for  a  considerable  loan  of  money.  The  grand- 
master went  to  its  assistance,  and  had  the  siege  raised, 
as  he  had  done  at  Bologna.  This  was  his  last  exploit  ; 
a  short  time  after  he  died  in  the  little  town  of  Cor- 
jegion  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-eight .  He  had  been 
appointed  Governor  of  Milan  at  twenty-five,  and  for 
thirteen  years  had  kept  his  master's  Italian  states  with 
the  wisdom  and  prudence  of  an  experienced  man.  He 
was  a  nephew  worthy  of  the  Cardinal  of  Amboise,  who 
had  adorned  him  with  the  offices  of  grandmaster,  marshal, 
and  admiral  of  France,  as  we  have  already  said.^  The 
tears  of  all  the  officers,  the  soldiers,  and  the  people  were 
his  praise,  and  the  regrets  of  the  king  and  all  the  king- 
dom were  a  sufficient  renown. 

^  He  was  the  son  of  Charles  d' Amboise,  Lord  of  Chaumont, 
Governor  of  Burgundy  and  Champagne,  and  grandson  of  Peter, 
father  of  the  Cardinal  George,  and  seven  other  sons.  All  this 
large  and  numerous  house  is  extinct ;  the  name  alone  is  pre- 
served by  the  alliance  of  the  heiress  with  a  member  of  the  house 
of  Clermont  Gallerande,  whose  cadet  branch,  known  by  the 
name  of  Clermont  of  Amboise,  exists  in  the  person  of  John 
Baptist  Louis,  Marquis  of  Resnel,  called  the  Marquis  of  Cler- 
mont, lieutenant-general  of  the  king's  armies,  who  is  appointed 
to  the  name  and  arms  of  Amboise.  He  has  an  only  son,  Dom 
d'Aubrac  in  Rouergue,  a  knight  of  Malta.  Again,  there  are  two 
houses  which  join  to  their  name  that  of  Amboise,  the  Marquis 
of  Aubijoux,  and  a  branch  of  the  house  of  Crussol.  The  arms 
of  the  Marquis  of  Clermont  are  azure,  three  chevrons  or,  that 
of  the  chief  broken  at  the  point,  quartered  with  those  of  Amboise, 
which  are  palle  or,  and  gules  in  six  pieces. 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  133 

Louis  immediately  sent  the  Duke  of  Longueville  to 
replace  him  in  his  post  of  lieutenant-general.  Longue- 
ville did  nothing  but  renew  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
king  and  to  Madame  Claude  of  France,  his  eldest 
daughter,  sworn  by  all  those  who  held  places  in  the 
Duchy  of  Milan.  After  that  he  returned,  and  was  im- 
mediately succeeded  by  the  Duke  of  Xemours,  with  all 
the  authority  that  the  grandmaster  himself  had  had. 

At  the  end  of  the  same  year — that  is  to  say,  towards 
Christmas — the  Duke  of  Xemours  learned  that  a  large 
troop  of  Swiss  were  descending  into  the  duchy  of  Milan 
to  drive  him  from  it.  He  went  to  meet  them  with  the 
few  men  that  remained  with  him,  but  the  greater  part  of 
his  soldiers  were  in  winter  quarters,  or  in  garrison  at 
Verona,  Bologna,  and  other  places.  Not  finding  their 
numbers  sufficiently  large  to  oppose  so  vast  a  body  of 
men,  they  were  obliged  to  return  to  Milan,  and  had  the 
misfortune  to  lose  the  Baron  of  Conti,  who  was  mortally 
wounded  in  the  retreat,  and  died  soon  after.  His  death 
was  avenged  with  interest  the  next  day  by  the  baron's 
good  friend.  Bayard,  our  noble  hero,  who  left  500  Swiss 
dead  on  the  field  where  Conti  had  been  wounded.  This 
disgrace  and  want  of  provisions  forced  their  leader, 
the  Baron  of  Saxony,  to  enter  into  a  negotiation  with 
the  Duke  of  Xemours,  and  in  consequence  of  this  they 
returned  to  their  own  country,  but  not  before  they  had 
left  cruel  traces  of  their  visit,  and  had  burnt  about 
twenty  large  villages  on  their  road.  The  Duke  of 
Xemours,  rid  of  the  Swiss,  had  scarcely  breathing  time, 
when  he  learnt  that  the  Spaniards  were  approaching 
Bologna  to  besiege  it.  He  set  out  with  his  army  for 
Final,  and  established  his  quarters  in  its  environs.  On 
the  road  from  Milan  to  Final  he  remained  two  days  in 
the  little  town  of  Carpi,  with  the  heads  of  his  army,  and 


134  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

those  whom  he  loved  and  trusted.  This  town  belonged 
to  Albert  Pico,  Count  of  Carpi,  cousin-german  to  John 
Francis  Pico,  Count  of  La  Mirandola,  both  of  them 
noted  for  their  learning. 

The  count  made  great  cheer  for  the  chief  and  French 
captains,  and  amongst  other  things  they  l:ad  the  amuse- 
ment of  an  astrologer,  who  was  then  in  the  town,  whose 
history  is  curious  enough  to  merit  a  place  here.^ 

This  astrologer  was  a  little  withered  black  man,  of 
about  sixty  years  of  age,  who  astonished  all  the  world 
by  the  tales  he  told  every  one  of  things  which  had  hap- 
pened to  them,  without  having  had  any  previous  know- 
ledge of  their  history,  and  still  more  by  his  predictions, 
which  results  had  often  verified.  When  the  Duke  of 
Nemours  and  all  his  company  had  heard  the  history  of 
this  man,  they  wished  to  see  him,  and  amuse  themselves 
with  him.  They  sent  word  to  him  to  present  himself 
before  the  count.  When  he  arrived,  the  duke  spoke  to 
him  in  a  friendly  manner,  and  asked  him  several  ques- 
tions on  indifferent  subjects  before  coming  to  the  point. 
He  asked  him  if  the  Viceroy  of  Naples  and  the  Spanish 
expected  battle,  to  which  he  answered  yes  ;  that  by  his 
head  *  battle  would  be  given  on  Good  Friday  or  Easter 

^  "  It  certainly  ought  to  be  acknowledged," — says  the  Loyal 
Servant,  Aviser  in  his  generation  than  Lieutenant  Morrison 
(Zadkiel),  and  those  who  consult  his  almanac,  are  in  this, — "  by 
all  true  Christians  that  God  alone  can  see  into  futurity ;  yet  this 
astrologer  of  Carpi  said  so  many  things  and  to  so  many  different 
people,  whi(  h  afterwards  proved  true,  that  he  turned  the  heads 
of  a  number*" 

*  "  Cursed  be  the  hour,''  says  the  Loyal  Servant,  while  re- 
lating this  singular  story,  "alas!  whereof  he  prophesied  so 
trul}'."  The  Duke  of  Nemours,  who  in  these  chronicles  is  always 
referred  to  as  gentle,  good,  and  kind,  seems  to  have  been  sincerely 
loved  bv  all  those  about  him. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  135 

Daj,  and  that  there  would  be  much  bloodshed.  The 
duke  asked  him  again  who  would  gain  it.  His  answer 
was,  that  the  field  would  remain  to  the  French,  that  the 
Spaniards  would  lose  more  there  than  they  had  ever 
lost  m  one  battle  before  ;  but  that  the  loss  of  the  French 
would  be  as  great  on  account  of  the  number  and  quality 
of  the  brave  men  they  would  leave  there.  He  sur- 
prised everybody  bv  the  assurance  of  his  answers  and  the 
good  sense  which  he  showed. 

Chabannes  asked  him  if  he  were  among  those  who 
would  die  at  that  time. 

"No,"  said  the  little  man,  "you  have  still  a  dozen 
years  to  live,  but  you  will  die  in  another  battle." 

He  said  as  much  to  the  Lord  of  Humbercourt,  and 
announced  to  the  Captain  Richebourg  that  he  was 
doomed  to  perish  by  lightning.  Finally,  all  the  com- 
pany questioned  him,  and  he  answered  all  very  wisely 
and  pertinently.  Bayard  laughed  at  him,  or  rather 
mocked  him,  but  the  Duke  of  Xemours  wished  that  he 
also  should  question  the  astrologer  as  to  his  future.  The 
knight  answered  him,  laughing,  that  he  did  not  mind  the 
trouble  of  questioning  him,  but  that  he  knew  well  enough 
without  asking  that  he  should  never  become  a  great 
man.     However,  he  spoke  to  the  astrologer. 

"My  master,"  said  he,  "  tell  me  if  I  shall  be  a  man  of 
consequence  some  day,  and  if  I  shall  become  rich  ?" 

The  other,  after  scanning  his  face  and  looking  in  his 
hand,  according  to  custom,  answered  him,  "  You  shall 
be  richer  in  honour  and  virtue  than  ever  French  captain 
was  before  you,  but  you  shall  have  scarcely  any  of 
fortune's  goods,  so  do  not  seek  them.  You  shall  serve 
another  King  of  France  besides  the  one  who  now  reigns, 
and  whom  you  serve,  who  will  love  and  esteem  you 
much  ;  but  the  envy  of  those  surrounding  him  will  pre- 


136  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

vent  his  giving  you  great  riches,  or  promoting  you  to 
the  honour  that  your  merit  will  have  deserved  :  always 
believe  that  the  fault  will  not  be  his." 

"  But,"  replied  Bayard,  "  shall  I  escape  from  this 
battle,  which  you  declare  will  be  so  bloody  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  oracle ;  "  but  a  dozen  years  hence, 
at  the  most,  you  will  die  in  action,  and  of  a  cannon  shot ; 
in  no  other  way,  for  you  stand  first  in  the  hearts  of  all 
your  soldiers,  who  would  die  to  the  last  man  to  save 
your  life." 

After  he  had  answered  everybody's  questions,  per- 
ceiving that  the  Duke  of  Nemours  was  more  friendly  to 
Chabannes  and  Bayard  than  to  any  of  the  others,  he 
drew  them  on  one  side,  and  said  to  them,  "  Your  prince 
over  there  appears  to  be  very  dear  to  you ;  he  de- 
serves it.  I  have  never  seen  such  a  happy  countenance  ; 
but  take  care  of  him  on  the  day  of  battle ;  I  see  that  he 
is  threatened  to  remain  there.  I  am  almost  sure  that  he 
will  die  there,  but  if  he  escapes  he  will  be  one  of  the 
greatest  men  that  France  has  yet  produced." 

These  proceedings  were  interrupted  by  the  arrival  of 
an  adventurer,  an  ensign  in  Captain  Molart's  band. 
This  man,  named  Jacquin  Cauraont,  was  a  brave  soldier, 
but  coarse  and  vicious.  He  also  wished  to  take  part  in 
the  amusement,  and  know  his  good  fortune. 

"  Come  here,"  he  said  to  the  astrologer  in  insolent 
tones,  "  and  tell  me  my  good  fortune." 

Caumont  was  rebuked  by  the  nobles  for  his  bad  man- 
ners :  they  made  him  apologize  to  the  astrologer,  and 
told  him  to  question  him  more  civilly  if  he  wanted  to 
know  anything.  The  old  man  was  annoyed  at  first,  and 
would  not  reply  to  him ;  but  he  relented,  and  after 
examining  his  face  and  hands,  he  said,  "  Do  not  ask  me 
anything,  for  I  have  nothing  but  bad  fortune  for  you." 


LIFE    OF  BAY  ABB.  i^j 

Caumont  pressed  him  to  tell  him  what  it  was. 

'•  If  you  will  know,  I  must  tell  you,"  said  the  astro- 
loger. "  Look  to  your  conscience  quickly,  for  in  less 
than  three  months  from  this,  you  shall  be  hanged  till 
you  are  dead." 

All  the  company  laughed  immoderately  at  this  pre- 
diction, but  it  was  verified  shortly  afterwards,  as  we 
shall  see  ;  also  Bayard's  death  in  1524,  that  of  Humber- 
court  in  1522,  and  that  of  Chabannes  in  1525. 

What  we  have  just  related  happened  at  the  end  of 
January,  1511,  at  Carpi,  whence  the  Duke  of  Xemours 
went  to  Final ;  and  from  there,  awaiting  news  of  the 
Spanish  army,  he  went  to  spend  a  few  days  at  Ferrara. 
On  returning  to  his  camp,  he  learnt  that  it  was  time  to 
go  to  Bologna  in  all  diligence,  for  that  otherwise  the 
town  and  garrison  would  be  lost.  He  assembled  his 
captains  together,  and  held  a  council  of  war  with  them, 
when  it  was  resolved  to  set  out  without  losing  a  moment 
to  raise  the  siege.  This  they  did,  and  the  first  news 
that  greeted  them  on  their  arrival  at  Bologna  was  to  the 
effect  that  the  Venetians  had  entered  again  into  Brescia 
by  surprise,  as  we  shall  proceed  to  relate. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


IRE  SCI  A  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  towns 
in  Europe.  Strong-,  rich,  and  remarkably 
well  situated,  its  climate  is  delightful,  and 
its  soil  fertile  in  all  that  is  necessary  to 
support  life.  Three  valleys,  one  stretching  out  from 
Germany  and  the  other  two  from  Friuli,  join  in  its 
territory,  and  by  one  or  the  other  of  these  valleys 
the  town  can  always  be  supplied  Avith  men  and  pro- 
visions. 

The  King  of  France  had  been  master  of  it  since 
May,  1509,  and  had  placed  the  Count  of  Lude  there  as 
Governor,  and  a  Biscayan  gentleman  named  Herigoye  as 
captain  of  the  castle.  The  Venetians  wished  for  nothing 
so  much  as  the  re-capture  of  this  place,  not  only  because 
of  its  importance,  but  also  because  from  there  they 
could  cut  off  provisions  from  Verona,  and  oppose  any 
convoys  that  might  come  from  Milan.  Of  course,  having 
once  possessed  the  town,  they  had  many  friends  within 
its  walls,  but  no  one  dared  stretch  out  a  helping  hand  to 
them,  for  the  late  Baron  of  Conti  and  the  knight  Bayard 
had  once  beheaded  one  of  their  magnates,  the  Count  of 
^lartineugne,  for  preparing  a  surprise  for  them,  and 
this  deterred  the  inhabitants  from  again  attempting  to 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  139 

assist  them.  But  what  the  Venetians  never  hoped  to 
attain  bj  force  of  arms,  or  spies,  or  treason,  a  quarrel 
between  two  youngsters  brought  about,  and  occasioned 
their  re-entering  Brescia,  and  the  slaughter  of  a  great 
number  of  French.  So  true  is  it  that  great  events 
often  spring  from  small  causes. 

The  Count  of  Gambara  and  the  Count  Louis  Avogara 
were  two  of  the  principal  nobles  of  the  town.  Each  had 
a  son  of  about  the  same  age,  who  one  day  quarrelled 
and  fought.  Gambara,  a  little  stronger  than  his  oppo- 
nent, wounded  him  dangerously.  The  Count  Avogara 
knew  not  how  to  be  revenged,  so  he  went  to  Milan  to 
demand  justice  of  the  Duke  of  Nemours ;  but  whether 
the  wounded  man  was  in  the  wrong,  or  whether  the 
Duke  of  Nemours,  being  occupied  with  more  important 
matters,  had  not  time  to  attend  to  his  case,  certain  it  is 
that  Avogara  did  not  get  satisfaction,  and  his  anger  led 
him  to  revenge  himself  upon  all  the  French  at  the  risk 
of  what  might  happen  to  himself.  He  dissembled  for 
some  time,  and  then,  pretending  to  go  into  the  country 
on  business,  he  went  to  Venice,  and  held  a,  conference 
with  the  Doge  and  the  councillors,  and  explained  his 
plot  and  the  means  of  executing  it. 

They  entirely  agreed  with  him,  and  promised  that  on 
the  day  named,  the  proveditore,  Andrea  Gritti,  should  be 
before  the  town  with  from  7000  to  8000  men,  and  a 
number  of  armed  peasants  from  the  mountains.  Avogara 
returned  to  Brescia,  and  managed  to  persuade  the 
principal  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  the  justice  of 
his  cause,  and  the  plot  was  crowned  with  the  greatest 
success.  The  Count  de  Lude  was  always  on  the  watch, 
but  he  had  not  enough  soldiers  to  resist  a  general  revolt. 
On  the  appointed  day  the  Venetian  army  came  to  give 
the  alarm  at  one  of  the  gates,  and  while  they  were  occu- 


14©  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

pird  in  defending  it,  a  party  of  troops  broke  the  iron 
bars  of  a  drain  at  the  other  end  of  the  town,  and  entered 
in  a  great  number,  crying,  "  Marco  !  Marco  ! "  At  this 
signal  the  Count  Avogara  and  all  his  accomplices  ap- 
peared in  arms,  and  placed  the  garrison  between  two 
fires,  and  immediately  the  gates  were  opened  to  the 
troops  without.  The  Count  of  Lude,  seeing  himself 
surprised  and  betrayed,  sounded  the  retreat,  and  retired 
as  best  he  could  to  the  castle,  abandoning  horses,  arms, 
and  baggage.  All  those  belonging  to  the  garrison  found 
within  the  town  were  murdered ;  they  did  not  deign  to 
take  a  single  prisoner.  The  Count  of  Gambara  found 
the  means  to  save  himself,  and  very  fortunately,  for  as 
soon  as  his  enemy  saw  himself  the  stronger  the  first 
thing  that  he  did  was  to  go  to  all  the  houses  belonging  to 
the  family  of  Gambara,  and  to  plunder  and  burn  them. 

The  conqueror,  feeling  that  it  was  useless  to  have  the 
town  without  the  castle,  sent  a  trumpet  to  summon  those 
who  were  inside  to  give  themselves  up ;  but  the  brave 
men  they  had  to  do  with  made  no  reply,  although  from 
their  large  number  their  provisions  could  not  last  long. 
However,  the  proveditore  cannonaded  the  castle  vigo- 
rously, and  made  a  large  breach.  He  had  two  large 
machines  made  of  wood,  capable  of  containing  100  men, 
to  approach  the  breach. 

The  Count  of  Lude  had  found  means  to  send  a  man 
to  the  Duke  of  Nemours.  The  messenger  had  the  good 
fortune  to  get  away  safely,  although  all  the  approaches 
were  well  guarded.  He  informed  the  duke  of  what  had 
happened,  and  told  him  that  if  he  did  not  send  assistance 
to  the  Count  of  Lude,  the  castle  could  not  hold  out  more 
than  eight  days.  The  siege  of  Bologna  had  just  been 
raised  and  the  Spaniards  beaten,  and  the  duke  was  so 
ofrieved  at  the  loss  of  Brescia  that  he  determined  to  go 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  141 

and  retake  it.  He  called  his  captains  together,  and  Sjk- 
formed  them  of  the  sad  event,  and  they  quite  agreed  with 
him  that  thev  could  not  afford  to  lose  this  beautiful  and 
interesting  Italian  possession  of  theirs.  They  considered 
that  the  re-capture  would  be  easy,  provided  that  the 
castle  held  out  till  their  arrival,  and  without  losing  any 
time  they  set  out  at  once  for  Brescia. 

The  Proveditore  Gritti  was  not  idle.  He  had  no 
doubt  that  as  soon  as  the  Duke  of  Nemours  heard  of  the 
capture  of  this  place  he  would  hasten  to  take  it.  He 
wrote  with  all  speed  to  the  Seignory  of  Venice  to  inform 
them  of  the  success  that  he  had  had,  and  spoke  of  the 
danger  he  should  be  in  if  a  large  French  army  arrived, 
that  his  forces  were  not  large  enough  to  await  it  in  the 
town,  much  less  to  give  battle  to  it ;  that  on  the  keep- 
ing of  Brescia  depended  the  retaking  of  all  the  places 
that  they  had  lost ;  and  he  concluded  with  a  wish  thut 
they  would  speedily  send  him  assistance  sufficiently 
powerful  to  put  him  in  a  position  to  profit  by  his 
victory. 

The  Seignory  was  too  well  satisfied  at  this  first  success 
not  to  try  to  push  it  farther.  Orders  were  sent  to  the 
Captain-General  John  Paul  Baillon  to  march  night  and 
day  to  Brescia  with  400  men-at-arms  and  4000  foot- 
soldiers.  Baillon  executed  the  order  of  the  republic 
without  delay  ;  but  the  Duke  of  i^emours,  as  diligent 
as  he,  so  hastened  his  march  that  his  men  got  over  as 
much  ground  in  the  day  as  a  body  of  cavalry  would 
have  been  able  to  do,  and  he  arrived  first  at  a  castle 
named  Valege,  which  the  Venetian  general  wished  to 
make  himself  master  of  before  entering  Brescia,  and 
where  there  was  a  French  garrison.  The  time  that  the 
Venetian  lost  there  made  him  miss  that  which  was  worth 
having,  and  gave  to  the  French  the  means   of  gaining 


142  SPOTLESS    AND   FEARLESS. 

the  town  before  him,  and  of  attackhig  hun  in  a  narrow 
defile. 

The  Venetians  took  with  them  six  pieces  of  .artillery, 
which  they  fired  upon  the  French  vanguard,  led  by 
Bayard  and  another  valiant  captain,  a  standard-bearer 
of  Teligny's  company,  who  was  killed  there. 

Bayard,  who  had  had  the  ague  all  the  night,  and  who 
was  on  horseback  in  his  night-gown,^  seeing  himself 
alone  entrusted  with  the  attack,  put  on  the  corslet  of  an 
adventurer,  then  mounted  an  excellent  horse,  and,  fol- 
lowed by  Teligny,  without  waiting  for  the  greater  part 
of  his  vanguard,  which  was  still  at  a  distance,  charged 
the  enemy  with  his  ordinary  valour,  and  held  out  against 
them  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  notwithstanding  the 
inequality  of  numbers.  He  was  soon  joined  by  his 
troop ;  but  the  Venetian  general  had  no  sooner  seen 
them  assembled  than  he  turned  his  back  with  so  much 
speed  that  those  who  pursued  him  could  not  reach  him. 
However,  all  his  foot-soldiers,  and  nearly  all  his  men- 
at-arms,  remained  upon  the  field  with  his  artillery. 
News  of  this  happy  event,  due  to  the  knight  Bayard 
alone,  was  soon  taken  to  the  French  camp,  and  caused 
general  rejoicing  both  there  and  at  the  castle,  which,  by 
continual  firing,  testified  its  joy. 

The  Duke  of  Nemours  and  the  captains  regretted 
that  they  were  not  present  during  these  proceedings, 
but  they  were  not  at  all  jealous  of  our  hero  ;  the  admir- 

'  In  his  night-gown ;  that  is,  not  as  we  now  understand  it, 
but  in  a  velvet  robe  de  chambre.  ''  He  was  not  armed,  but  had 
on  a  black  velvet  riding  dress,"  says  the  Loyal  Servant.  It 
was  such  a  gown  as  Hamlet  wore  when,  rising  in  the  night,  he 
discovered  the  treachery  of  Gnildenstern  and  Rosencrantz : — 
"  Up  from  my  cabin, 
My  sea-gown  scarf'd  about  me." — Act  v.  sc.  ii. 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  143 

ation  they  had  fur  him  vas  mixed  with  no  shade  of 
envv. 

The  inhabitants  of  Brescia  were  in  a  general  con- 
sternation, foreseeing  what  must  happen  sooner  or  later. 
They  begged  the  proveditore,  Messer  Andrea  Gritti, 
to  leave  their  town  that  they  might  give  it  up  to  the 
French  ;  but  he  refused  them  constantly,  and  finally 
repented  that  he  had  done  so. 

The  Duke  of  Nemours,  who  was  still  twenty  miles 
from  the  town  when  the  Venetians  were  defeated,  went 
the  following  day  to  the  foot  of  the  castle,  having  met 
in  a  village  on  the  road  a  number  of  Venetian  foot- 
soldiers,  w^ho  tried  to  stand  their  ground,  but  were 
speedily  cut  in  pieces.  On  his  arrival,  several  of  the 
French  captains  went  to  the  castle  to  reassure  the  Count 
of  Lude  and  the  Captain  Herigoye,  who,  by  way  of 
rejoicing,  sent  about  twenty  volleys  of  cannon  amongst 
the  townspeople,  to  whom  this  sort  of  joy  was  doubtless 
anything  but  pleasing.  TTie  next  day  the  prince  and 
all  the  captains  assembled  at  the  castle,  and  there  deter- 
mined to  give  a  general  assault  to  the  town. 

The  French  general  knew  that  there  were  about  8000 
regular  troops,  and  12,000  or  14,000  ])easants  or  militia- 
men in  the  town,  which  was  well  fortified,  whilst  he  had 
only  about  12,000  men  in  all.  These,  however,  were 
picked  troops,  as  the  surplus  had  remained  at  Bologna. 
They  went  down,  without  trouble,  from  the  castle  to  the 
town.  There  were  no  ditches  which  crossed  the.  marsh, 
but  a  tolerably  good  newly-made  rampart.  All  being 
thus  arranged,  and  every  one  showing  the  greatest 
ardour,  joined  to  the  confidence  and  friendship  which 
they  had  fur  the  Duke  of  Xemours,  the  assault  was 
ordered  for  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  on  the  following 
day.     The  plan  was,  that   the   Lord  of  Molard  should 


144  SPOTLESS    AND   FEARLESS. 

lead  the  first,  that  the  Captain  Herigoye,  with  his  foot- 
soldiers,  should  begin  to  skirmish ;  after  him  should 
come  the  Captain  Jacob  with  the  2000  lansquenets  that 
he  commanded,  and  after  him  Bonnet,  Maugiron,  the 
bastard  of  Cleves,  and  others,  with  their  men,  amount- 
ing to  7000  in  all ;  that  the  duke  with  the  gentlemen 
under  the  orders  of  the  Seneschal  of  Normandy,  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  men-at-arms,  all  on  foot  and 
fully  armed,  should  march  by  the  side  of  the  7000  men 
before  named ;  that  last  of  all  D'Alegre  with  300  horses 
should  post  himself  at  the  gate  of  St.  John  (which  was 
the  only  one  remaining  open,  all  the  others  being  walled 
up),  and  hinder  people  from  leaving  the  town. 

Chabannes  was  not  able  to  be  there,  having  been 
wounded  in  the  head  the  day  before  by  a  piece  of  stone 
splintered  by  a  cannon  ball  fired  at  the  castle  from  the 
town.  This  plan  of  attack  was  agreed  to  by  every  one 
but  Bayard,  who  was  not  quite  satisfied  with  it.  He  con- 
sidered that  as  the  Lord  of  Molard  was  to  lead  the  attack, 
he  would  have  all  the  picked  men  of  the  enemy  to  resist, 
*'  and  as  in  this  position,"  said  he,  "  he  cannot  possibly 
retreat  (as  I  am  sure  he  would  not  think  of  doing),  I 
advise  that  he  shall  have  150  men-at-arms  to  support 
his  foot-soldiers." 

"  What  you  say  is  very  just  and  true,"  replied  the 
Duke  of  Nemours,  "  but  what  captain  would  put  himself 
at  the  mercy  of  their  arquebuses  ?" 

'■  I  will,"  replied  Bayard,  "  if  you  approve  of  the  plan, 
and  I  will  answer  for  it  that  the  company  I  command 
will  do  such  honour  and  service  to  the  king  as  shall  be 
well  worthy  of  appreciation." 

Every  one  looked  at  his  neighbour  in  astonishment  at 
this  dangerous  proposition;  but  Bayard  was  persistent, 
and  no  one  was  inclined  to  dispute  his  commission  with 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  145 

him.  Everything  being  thus  settled,  the  Duke  of 
Nemours,  touched  with  the  fate  of  the  poor  inhabitants 
who  were  going  to  be  sacked  and  massacred,  thought 
they  ought  to  make  one  more  effort  to  save  the  town 
and  its  people  from  the  evils  they  would  otherwise 
have  to  undergo,  and  to  see  if  they  would  give  them- 
selves up. 

This  kindness  was  much  approved  of,  and  it  was 
agreed  that  before  the  attack  on  the  next  day  they 
should  send  a  herald  to  summon  the  townspeople  to  a 
parley.  This  was  done.  The  herald  began  sounding 
his  trumpet  at  the  gate  of  the  town,  and  went  on  thus 
to  the  rampart,  where  he  found  the  Proveditore  Gritti, 
and  all  the  captains,  who,  without  allowing  him  to  enter 
the  town,  received  his  message,  which  was,  that  if  they 
chose  to  give  up  the  town  their  lives  should  be  spared ; 
that  otherwise,  if  they  sustained  a  siege,  they  'tnust  all 
expect  nothing  short  of  death. 

The  answer  was,  that  the  town  belonged  to  the 
Seignory  of  "Venice,  that  it  wished  still  to  remain  in  the 
possesssion  of  that  power,  and  that  no  Frenchman 
should  put  foot  inside  it  as  long  as  they  were  on  guard. 
The  inhabitants  thought  very  differently,  and  would 
willingly  have  given  themselves  up ;  but  they  were  not 
consulted.  The  herald  went  up  to  the  castle  with  his 
answer.  The  Duke  of  Nemours,  who  in  the  interval 
had  settled  the  whole  order  of  battle,  cried,  "  Let  us  go, 
then,  my  fiuends  and  companions ;  in  the  name  of  God 
and  St.  Denis  let  us  show  them  what  we  can  do."  At 
that  moment  he  caused  such  a  noise  of  clarions  and 
trumpets,  and  drums  to  be  made,  that  it  was  enough  to 
make  the  hair  of  the  boldest  stand  on  end.  The  enemy, 
hearing  this  noise,  answered  with  many  volleys  of  cannon 
shot,  one  of  which   went   ri^ht  into  the   midst  of  the 


146  SPOTLESS    AND   FEARLESS. 

duke's  company,  but  happily  without  killing  or  wound- 
ing one  man. 

The  march  was  headed,  as  had  been  settled,  by  the 
Captains  Molard  and  Herigoye  with  their  men.  Bayard 
with  his  men-at-arms  forming  the  two  wings.  The 
gentlemen  of  Bayard's  company  were  all  picked  men, 
and  noble  and  valiant  soldiers.  The  greater  number  of 
them  had  been  commanders  themselves,  but  preferred 
the  honour  of  serving  under  Bayard  to  having  troops  of 
their  own  to  command.  These  troops  reached  the  first 
rampart,  behind  which  were  their  enemies,  who  defended 
the  approach  with  their  artillery  and  arquebuses,  which 
strewed  shot  like  hail  amongst  the  French. 

Both  sides  fought  like  lions,  the  French  crying, 
"  France  !  France  !  Bayard !  Bayard  ! "  and  those  in 
the  town,  "  Marco !  Marco ! "  with  noise  enough  to 
drown  the  roar  of  the  cannon. 

The  Proveditore  Gritti,  to  encourage  his  men,  said 
to  them,  "  Hold  fast,  comrades.  The  French  have  only 
the  first  rush ;  they  will  be  tired  presently,  and  if  this 
Bayard  were  defeated,  all  the  rest  would  lose  heart." 
However,  the  attack  became  increasingly  furious  on  both 
sides.  The  French  began  to  drive  back  the  Venetians, 
and  made  them  retreat  a  little.  Bayard,  perceiving  it, 
cried,  "  Courage,  companions  ;  let  us  go  in,  they  are 
ours."  The  good  knight  was  the  first  to  cross  the  ram- 
part, and  was  soon  followed  by  his  whole  troop,  to  the 
number  of  more  than  a  thousand,  who  gained  the  first 
fort ;  but  it  cost  both  sides  much  blood,  the  French, 
however,  much  less  than  the  Venetians.  Bayard,  espe- 
cially, paid  dearly  for  the  honour  he  had  gained  in  leap- 
ing the  rampart.  He  received  such  a  terrible  pike 
thrust  in  the  top  of  his  thigh  that  a  spear-head  remained 
broken  short  ofi"  in  his  flesh.     The  pain  he  felt  was  so 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  147 

great  that  he  thought  he  was  dying.  "  Captain  Molard," 
he  said,  "  take  the  command  of  my  men ;  the  town  is 
gained,  but  I  shall  never  enter  it.  I  am  wounded  to  the 
death."  The  blood  was  streaming  from  his  wound,  and 
two  of  his  men  tore  up  their  shirts  to  staunch  it,  and 
then  carried  him  out  of  the  fray  as  quietly  as  they 
could. 

But  the  Lord  of  Molard,  furious  at  the  loss  of  his 
men,  swore,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that  he  would  have 
vengeance,  and  he  and  his  whole  troop  threw  themselves 
upon  their  enemies,  like  tigers  upon  their  prey,  and 
overthrew  all  who  came  in  their  way.  The  Duke  of 
Nemours,  learning  that  the  first  fort  was  taken,  but  that 
Bayard  was  mortally  wounded,  felt  as  much  grief  as  if 
he  himself  had  received  the  blow.  "  Let  us  go,  my 
friends  and  comrades,"  he  cried,  "  let  us  go  and  avenge 
the  death  of  the  most  accomplished  knight  that  ever  lived. 
Follow  me." 

On  his  arrival,  the  Venetians,  already  driven  back,  left 
the  rampart,  and,  with  the  idea  of  re-entering  the  town, 
tried  to  raise  the  bridge,  which  would  have  been  a  great 
hindrance  to  the  French  ;  but  they  fortunately  had  no 
time  to  do  what  they  intended;  the  French  pursued 
them  so  quickly  that  they  all  entered  together  pell-mell, 
and  arriving  in  this  manner  in  the  great  square,  found 
all  the  cavalry  and  infantry  ranged  ready  for  battle. 
The  lansquenets  and  the  French  foot-soldiers  were  very 
brave,  and  distinguished  themselves  particularly  by  their 
feats  of  valour. 

Captain  Bonnet  commenced  the  attack,  which  was 
furious  indeed.  The  poor  French  had  not  only  to 
fight  against  the  men,  but  to  stand  the  attacks  of  the 
women  of  the  town,  who  from  the  windows  of  the  houses 
threw  stones,  bricks,  boiling  water,  and  pieces  of  furni- 


148  SPOTLESS  AND  FEARLESS. 

ture  iipon  them.  In  this  battle,  which  scarcely  lasted 
half  an  hour,  the  Venetians  were  totally  defeated.  From 
7000  to  8000  lay  dead  in  the  square,  and  the  rest 
sought  safety  in  flight :  but  from  street  to  street  they 
met  soldiers,  who  gave  them  no  quarter.  Theprovedi- 
tore,  the  Count  Avogara,  author  of  the  treason,  and  all 
the  captains,  seeing  the  rout  become  general,  ran 
towards  the  gate  of  St.  John,  crying  "  Marco ! "  and 
had  the  bridge  lowered ;  but  they  were  driven  back 
by  D'Alegre  and  his  300  men-at-arms,  who  charged 
them  so  vigorously  that  they  overthrew  them  nearly  all. 
The  proveditore,  seeing  himself  pursued,  took  refuge  in 
a  house,  where  he  was  made  prisoner  with  Avogara, 
Such  a  terrible  and  complete  carnage  had  not  been 
seen  for  a  long  time.  The  Venetians  reckoned  their 
dead  at  above  20,000  men,  soldiers  and  townspeople, 
while  the  French  did  not  lose  fifty.  Afterwards  the 
French  began  the  pillage  of  the  place,  which  was  im- 
mense, and  the  desire  for  which  carried  them  even  unto 
the  convents,  where  the  soldiers  gave  themselves  up  to 
all  sorts  of  excesses.  But  the  great  value  of  the 
plunder  was  a  misfortune  for  the  French,  for  the 
soldiers,  being  enriched  by  it,  deserted  in  bands,  and 
returned  to  their  homes,  which  left  the  army  much 
weakened,  and  in  a  short  time  led  to  the  loss  of  all  the 
places  the  French  held  in  Italy. 

Bayard,  mortally  wounded,  as  he  supposed,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  action,  was  placed  by  two  of  his  soldiers 
on  a  wooden  gate,  which  they  took  from  the  first  house 
they  came  to ;  and  having  withdrawn  him  from  the 
crowd,  they  carried  him  into  a  beautiful  large  house  at 
a  little  distance,  belonging  to  a  gentleman  who  had 
deserted  it,  leaving  his  wife  and  two  young  and  beauti- 
ful daughters  to  the  care  of  Providence.     The  lady  her- 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  149 

self  opened  the  gate,  and  received  Bajard  as  a  dying 
man.  He  ordered  his  two  soldiers  to  station  themselves 
at  the  gate,  and  on  pain  of  death  not  to  admit  any  but 
his  men. 

"  I  am  sure,"  said  he  to  the  men,  "  that  when  they 
know  I  am  lodged  here  they  will  not  force  a  passage  ; 
and  I  will  indemnify  you  for  your  loss  of  the  plunder." 

His  two  soldiers,  led  by  the  lady,  carried  him  into  a 
beautiful  apartment,  and  as  soon  as  they  arrived  there 
she  threw  herself  on  her  knees,  and  spoke  to  him  in 
these  words  : — "  Xoble  lord,  I  offer  you  this  house  and 
all  that  it  contains ;  all  is  yours  by  the  laws  of  war.  I 
only  ask  you  one  favour,  which  is  that  you  will  preserve 
the  lives  and  honour  of  myself  and  my  two  daughters." 

"  Madam,"  said  Bayard,  scarcely  able  to  speak,  "  I 
do  not  know  whether  I  shall  recover  from  the  wound  I 
have  received,  but  as  long  as  I  live  neither  you  nor 
your  daughters  shall  sustain  more  injury  than  myself; 
only  take  care  of  them,  and  do  not  let  them  appear.  I 
promise  you  that  no  one  shall  enter  the  house  contrary 
to  your  wish.  I  am  not  the  man  to  plunder  you  ;  on 
the  contrary,  I  promise  you  all  the  respect  and  friend- 
ship in  my  power.  But  the  most  urgent  need  now  is  to 
procure  me  some  help,  and  that  quickly." 

The  lady,  relieved  by  the  knight's  words,  went  her- 
self, accompanied  by  one  of  his  soldiers,  to  look  for  a 
surgeon  who  lived  two  houses  distant  from  her.  As 
soon  as  he  arrived  he  examined  the  wound,  which  was 
large  and  deep,  but  happily,  as  he  declared,  not  mortal. 
He  applied  the  first  dressing,  and  when  that  was  re- 
moved, the  Duke  of  Xeraours  sent  his  surgeon,  with 
orders  not  to  leave  the  invalid.  Indeed,  the  surgeon 
treated  him  so  well  that  in  less  that  a  month  and  a  half 
he  was  fit  to  get  on  horseback. 


ISO  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

As  soon  as  Bayard's  wound  was  dressed,  he  asked  his 
hostess  where  her  husband  was. 

"  I  don't  know,"  she  replied,  weeping  bitterlj, 
"  whether  he  is  dead  or  alive,  but  I  believe  he  has 
taken  refuge  in  a  convent,  where  he  has  many  friends." 

"  Try  to  find  out,  madam,"  said  Bayard,  "  and  I  will 
promise  you  to  have  him  brought  home  in  safety." 

When  they  learnt  the  place  of  his  retreat.  Bayard 
sent  his  maitre  d'hotel  with  two  archers,  who  accom- 
panied him  into  the  sick  man's  room,  by  whom  he  was 
received  Avith  a  good  grace ;  and  the  assurances  of  safety 
and  protection  that  had  been  given  to  the  lady  were 
renewed  to  him.  We  shall  see  that  Bayard  kept  his 
word  to  them  even  more  strictly  than  they  could  have 
hoped. 

After  the  glorious  but  bloody  re-capture  of  Brescia 
by  the  French,  the  Duke  of  Nemours'  first  care  was  to 
establish  order  as  far  as  possible.  He  began  by  sending 
orders  that  all  the  soldiers  were  to  leave  the  churches 
and  convents,  and  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  were 
to  return  to  their  homes ;  next  he  gave  orders  that  the 
dead  bodies  should  be  taken  outside  the  town.  The  num- 
ber was  found  to  exceed  22,000.  He  filled  up  the  officers' 
places  which  had  become  vacant,  and  did  all  that  pru- 
dence dictated  to  restore  good  order  everywhere,  after 
which  he  brought  the  Count  Avogara,  and  Thomas  Del 
Duca,  and  Jerome  de  Bive,  his  principal  accomplices,  to 
trial.  They  were  condemned  to  be  beheaded  and  after- 
wards quartered. 

During  the  seven  or  eight  days  that  the  duke  re- 
mained in  the  town  he  did  not  allow  one  to  pass  without 
going  to  see  our  hero  once  or  twice,  and  encouraging 
him  to  get  well  quickly.  "  Because,"  said  he,  "  we  shall 
be  obliged  to  give  battle  to  the  Spaniards  in  a  month 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  151 

from  this  time,  and  I  would  give  all  the  world  for  your 
presence  at  that  time." 

"  If  you  desire  my  presence  there,"  replied  Bayard, 
"  I  assure  you  I  should  like  nothing  better,  and,  God 
helping  me,  I  will  be  there,  even  if  I  am  carried  in  a 
litter." 

The  duke,  before  leaving  the  town,  made  Bayard 
many  presents  ;  amongst  other  things  he  gave  him  500 
crowns,  which  he  divided  between  his  two  soldiers, 
having  promised  that  he  would  make  up  to  them  for 
the  loss  of  their  share  of  the  plunder. 

When  the  king  learnt  that  the  town  of  Brescia  had 
been  reduced  to  submission,  he  felt  very  great  joy,  and 
wished  more  strongly  than  ever  to  pursue  the  victory, 
and  to  drive  the  Spaniards  entirely  from  Lombardy,  for 
he  judged  that,  as  long  as  they  were  there,  his  state  of 
Milan  would  never  be  in  safety.  He  wrote  letter  after 
letter  to  his  nephew,  the  Duke  of  iSTemours,  who  saw 
the  matter  in  the  same  light  as  he  did.  The  king  told 
him,  amongst  other  things,  that  he  could  not  defray  the 
expenses  of  the  foot-soldiers  whom  he  had  hired  without 
levying  taxes  on  his  people,  which  he  feared  doing  more 
than  anything  else  in  the  world ;  and  he  added  that  he 
knew  the  King  of  England  meditated  a  descent  upon 
some  province  of  France ;  that  the  Swiss  on  their  side 
had  evil  designs  upon  the  country ;  and  he  always  con- 
cluded by  wishing  the  Spaniards  sent  so  far  away  that 
they  should  never  return  again. 

The  duke,  as  well  to  obey  the  king  as  because  he 
himself  saw  the  necessity  for  a  battle  which  might  put 
an  end  to  the  war,  set  out  from  Brescia  with  all  his 
captains  and  horse  and  foot-soldiers,  and  went  to 
Bologna,  where  the  Duke  of  Ferrara  arrived  soon 
after,    and,   in    conjunction    with  Chabannes,  was   en- 


152  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

trusted  with  the  charge  of  the  vanguard.  The  French 
met  the  Spanish  army  at  a  few  miles  from  Bologna. 
It  was  one  of  the  finest  armies  on  record,  not  only  from 
the  number,  but  the  superiority  of  its  troops,  and  on 
account  of  the  richness  of  the  equipments  and  the  beauty 
of  the  horses.  Don  Raymond  of  Cardona,  the  viceroy 
of  Naples,  was  commander-in-chief;  he  had  in  his  own 
particular  company  1200  or  1400  men-at-arms,  armed 
cap-a-pied  ;  besides  these  he  had  12,000  foot-soldiers — 
that  is  to  say,  2000  Italians,  under  the  orders  of  a  cap- 
tain named  Ramessot,  and  10,000  Spaniards,  Biscayans, 
or  Neapolitans,  commanded  by  Don  Pedro  of  Navarre, 
who  had  formerly  led  these  troops  into  Barbary,  where 
they  had  gained  him  two  or  three  battles.  All  these 
troops  were  accomplished  soldiers,  and  men  to  be 
trusted.  They  had  for  two  years  done  nothing  but 
wander  about  Lombardy,  which  is  a  country  abundant 
in  provisions  and  pasturage,  and  where  both  men  and 
horses  had  had  everything  they  could  desire. 

For  three  or  four  weeks  the  two  armies  kept  con- 
tinually at  five  or  six  miles  from  each  other.  The 
Spaniards  took  care  to  encamp  themselves  to  their  ad- 
vantage, and  often  skirmished  with  the  French,  some- 
times one  party,  sometimes  the  other,  gaining  the 
advantage. 

But  notwithstanding  the  situation  of  the  Spaniards, 
and  the  flourishing  state  of  their  army,  the  French  were 
very  desirous  of  seeing  them  in  open  field,  so  that  they 
might  give  battle  to  them.  This  desirable  occasion  was 
not  long  in  presenting  itself,  as  we  shall  show,  after 
-having  seen  how  Bayard  recovered  from  his  wound, 
and  with  what  generosity  he  treated  his  hosts. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


I  HE  good  knight,  who  was  believed  to  be 
mortally  wounded,  had  been  allowed  to 
leave  his  room  after  five  or  six  weeks,  and 
his  wound  got  daily  better,  although  not  so 
quickly  as  he  wished.  He  was  uneasy  as  the  time 
approached  for  the  battle  which  the  duke  had  resolved 
to  fight  with  the  Spaniards,  for  he  would  not  have 
missed  his  chance  of  being  there  for  all  the  gold  in  the 
world. 

His  impatience  at  last  induced  him  to  try  his 
strength ;  he  got  up  and  walked  about  the  room  a 
little.  His  courage  was  greater  than  his  weakness,  and 
he  sent  for  his  surgeon  to  ask  him  if  he  were  in  a  fit 
state  to  get  into  the  saddle  once  more. 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  said  he,  "  that  I  am  well ;  and  I 
assure  you  that  I  should  be  worse  if  made  to  keep  my 
room,  than  if  I  were  allowed  to  go  to  the  field." 

The  surgeon,  who  knew  him,  assured  him  that  the 
wound  was  internally  healed,  and  it  was  only  necessary 
to  leave  it  for  the  scar  to  heal,  and  he  added,  "  Your 
valet  can  do  all  you  want ;  he  has  seen  me  dress  your 
wound,  and  as  I  intend  giving  him  the  ointment  which 
I  used,  he  will  be  able  to  dress  it  as  well  as  I  could." 

Bayard,  transported  with  joy,  rewarded  the  surgeon 


154  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

with  his  usual  liberality,  and,  having  resolved  to  depart 
in  two  days,  ordered  his  men  to  get  ready  to  accompsftiy 
him  in  that  time. 

The  gentleman  and  lady  in  whose  house  he  was, 
hearing  of  his  approaching  departure,  and  considering 
that  themselves,  their  children,  and  their  property 
(which  might  have  been  as  much  as  2000  gold  ducats  ^ 
a  year)  belonged  to  him,  were  in  doubt  as  to  how  he 
would  treat  them,  and  fully  expected  that  they  should 
have  to  pay  him  at  least  10,000  ducats  for  ransom.  The 
lady,  who  had  reason  to  know  the  nobility  of  his  senti- 
ments, hoped  that  he  would  content  himself  with  tlie 
offer  she  would  make  him.  She  put  2500  golden  ducats 
in  a  little  highly  ornamented  steel  coffer,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  day  of  Bayard's  departure  she  entered 
his  room,  followed  by  a  lacquey  carrying  the  coffer. 
She  began  by  throwing  herself  on  her  knees,  but  the 
good  knight  forced  her  to  rise,  and  would  not  listen  to 
her  until  she  was  seated  near  him. 

"  My  lord,"  she  said,  "  I  shall  thank  God  all  my  life 
that  it  pleased  him,  in  the  midst  of  the  sacking  of  our 
town,  to  lead  such  a  generous  knight  to  our  house  ;  and 
my  husband  and  children  shall  always  look  upon  you  as 
our  tutelar  angel,  and  shall  ever  remember  that  it  is  to 
you  we  owe  our  lives  and  our  honour.  Ever  since  you 
came  amongst  us,  we  have  received  from  you  nothing  but 
proofs  of  goodness  and  friendship.  Your  men  even  have 
treated  us  with  respect,  and  have  taken  nothing  from  us 
without  payment.  We  confess  we  are  your  prisoners  ; 
the  house,  with  all  it  contains,  is  yours  by  right  of  con- 


*  It  was  a  very  small  piece  of  money  of  the  size  and  value  of 
the  present  sequin,  which  is  worth  about  11  francs  10  sous 
French  money. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  155 

quest ;  but  you  have  shown  us  such  generosity  and 
greatness  of  mind  that  I  have  come  to  beg  you  to  have 
pity  on  us,  and  to  be  satisfied  with  the  little  present 
that  I  have  the  honour  to  offer  you." 

So  saying,  she  opened  the  coffer,  and  showed  Bayard 
its  contents.  The  knight,  who  never  in  his  life  had  set 
any  value  upon  either  gold  or  silver,  smiled  and  said  to 
her,  "  How  much  have  you  there  ?  " 

The  lady,  thinking  that  he  was  speaking  contemptu- 
ously, and  that  he  considered  the  present  too  small, 
answered  him,  trembling  all  the  time,  "  My  lord,  there 
are  only  2500  ducats ;  but  if  you  are  not  satisfied, 
mention  the  sum  you  wish  to  have,  and  we  will  try  to 
get  it." 

"  That  is  not  what  I  was  going  to  say,"  replied 
Bayard.  "If  you  were  to  offer  me  100,000  ducats,  I 
should  not  value  them  as  much  as  all  the  kindness  you 
have  shown  me  since  I  have  been  with  you,  and  the 
company  you  have  borne  me,  both  yourself  and  your 
whole  family.  Instead  of  taking  your  money,  I  promise 
you  that  as  long  as  I  live  you  shall  find  me  always 
ready  to  serve  you  and  be  your  friend,  and  I  shall 
ever  hold  dear  the  remembrance  of  your  benefits." 

The  lady,  much  astonished  at  this  reply,  which  she 
had  not  in  the  least  expected,  threw  herself  on  her 
knees,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  to  beg  him  to  accept  her 
present. 

"  I  shall  consider  myself  the  most  unhappy  woman  in 
the  world,"  said  she,  "  if  you  refuse  it,  and  I  shall  think 
we  have  not  deserved  all  the  goodness  you  have  shown 
us  while  you  have  been  here." 

"  As  you  wish  it  so  much,"  replied  Bayard,  "  I  accept 
it ;  but  I  pray  you  send  your  daughters  here  that  I  may 
take  leave  of  them." 


156  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

While  she  was  gone  to  call  them,  Bayard  divided  the 
ducats  into  three  lots — two  of  1000  ducats  each,  and 
the  other  of  500.  The  young  girls  having  come,  the 
first  thing  they  did  was  to  throw  themselves  on  their 
knees ;  but  he  made  them  get  up,  and  seat  themselves. 
Then  the  elder  of  them  said  to  him,  "  You  see  before 
you,  my  lord,  two  young  girls  who  owe  their  lives  and 
honour  to  you.  We  are  very  sorry  not  to  be  able  to 
show  our  thanks  otherwise  than  by  praying  to  God  for 
you-  all  our  lives,  and  asking  Him  to  reward  you  both 
in  this  world  and  the  next." 

Bayard,  affected  almost  to  tears,  thanked  them  for 
their  help  and  their  charming  society,  for  they  had  been 
his  daily  companions,  and  amused  him  by  working  in 
his  room,  and  singing  or  playing  on  the  lute  to  him. 

"  You  know,"  said  he,  "  that  soldiers  are  not  ordi- 
narily loaded  with  jewels  or  other  things  to  present  to 
young  ladies  ;  but  your  mother  has  just  compelled  me 
to  accept  from  her  2500  ducats  that  you  see  there.  I 
give  you  a  thousand  each  to  form  part  of  your  marriage 
portions ; "  and  in  spite  of  their  protestations  he  made 
them  accept  his  gifts,  asking  nothing  in  return  but  their 
prayers  to  God  for  him.  Then  addressing  himself  to 
the  mother,  "  Madam,"  said  he,  "  these  500  ducats  re- 
main to  me,  and  I  intend  to  distribute  them  amongst  the 
poor  convents  which  have  suffered  most  from  the  pillage ; 
and  as  I  am  about  to  leave,  and  as  you  are  more  likely 
than  I  am  to  know  who  have  the  greatest  need  of  relief, 
I  leave  this  work  to  you,  and  I  must  now  take  leave  of 
you  and  your  daughters." 

They  again  fell  on  their  knees,  sobbing  as  if  they  had 
lost  their  father.  They  pressed  his  hands  in  theirs,  and 
the  mother,  so  moved  that  she  could  scarcely  utter  her 
words,  said  to  him,  "  Too  generous  knight,  God  alone 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  157 

can  reward  your  virtues.     We  will  dailj  pray  to  Him 
without  ceasing  to  spare  your  life." 

After  this,  she  retired  with  her  daughters.  Bayard 
sent  to  beg  the  father  to  come  and  dine  with  him. 
Having  been  informed  of  what  had  passed,  he  entered 
the  room,  and  with  one  knee  on  the  ground,  began  out- 
pouring his  thanks,  and  offers  of  his  services,  his  pro- 
perty, and  his  person.  As  soon  as  they  had  dined, 
Bayard,  who  had  ordered  his  carriages  to  be  ready,  pre- 
pared to  set  out,  when  the  two  young  ladies  came  to 
him,  and  begged  him  to  accept  from  each  a  piece  of  her 
work.  The  elder  of  the  two  gave  him  two  pretty  brace- 
lets of  gold  and  silver-thread,  and  the  other  a  crimson 
satin  purse,  beautifully  embroidered.  He  was  as  grate- 
ful to  them  as  if  they  had  given  him  a  fortune,  put 
on  the  two  bracelets  in  their  presence,  and  put  the  purse 
in  his  pocket,  promising  the  young  ladies  that  as  long  as 
their  presents  lasted,  he  would  wear  them.  The  fare- 
wells and  tears  began  again,  but  the  separation  was  a 
thing  of  necessity,  and  while  they  were  yet  bitterly 
grieving  at  his  departure,  Bayard  left  them. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


JIIE  knight  took  the  road  to  the  camp  before 
Bologna,  accompanied  by  his  good  friend,  the 
Lordd'Aubigny,  whom  the  Duke  of  Nemours 
had  left  governor  at  Brescia,  and  who  led  him 
with  a  great  number  of  gentlemen  to  within  two  or 
three  miles  of  his  destination.  Some  of  them  followed 
him  to  the  camp,  where  they  arrived  the  Wednesday 
before  Easter.  Bayard  was  received  by  the  prince  and 
all  the  army  with  such  great  demonstrations  of  joy  that 
it  seemed  as  if  he  alone  were  a  reinforcement  of  10,000 
men.  The  camp  was  that  day  before  Ravenna.  The 
Spaniards  were  six  miles'  distant,  but  the  next  day  they 
approached  to  within  two  miles  of  the  French.  The  day 
after  Bayard's  arrival  the  Duke  of  Nemours  held  a 
council  of  war  upon  the  plan  which  it  would  be  wisest 
to  pursue.  He  showed  how  the  French  army  had  begun 
to  suffer  for  want  of  provisions,  that  bread  and  wine 
would  soon  be  wanting,  because  the  Venetians  on  one 
side  and  the  Spaniards  on  the  other,  occupied  the  pass- 
ages of  the  Romagna.  But  he  did  not  know,  neither 
did  any  of  his  officers,  another  inconvenience  that  in- 
terested him  equally — namely,  that  the  emperor  had 
ordered,  by  letter,  the  captains  of  the   lansquenets  to 


LIFE   01    BAYARD.  159 

retire  on  pain  of  their  heads,  immediately  his  orders 
were  received.  By  good  fortune,  these  letters  were 
given  to  two  men,  too  generous  to  use  them.  Of  these 
one  was  Philip  of  Friberg,  and  the  other  the  Captain 
Jacob,  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken,  who  had 
formerly  received  benefits  from  Louis  XII,  so  that  his 
heart  was  more  French  than  German,  He  had  con- 
tracted a  singular  friendship  for  Bayard  ever  since  the 
emperor's  expedition  to  Padua  in  1509.  He  had  no 
sooner  received  the  letter  than  hearing  of  Bayard's 
arrival  at  the  camp,  he  went  to  see  him  without  any 
other  witness  but  his  interpreter  (never  having  been 
able  to  learn  the  French  language).  After  many  mutual 
protestations  of  friendship,  he  informed  the  knight  of  the 
emperor's  orders,  of  which  none  but  he  and  Friberg  had 
any  knowledge.  He  protested  that,  having  given  his 
oath  to  the  king,  and  being  in  his  pay,  he  would  sooner 
die  a  thousand  times  than  be  so  unfaithful  to  him, 
though  he  was  very  certain  that  if  the  lansquenets 
were  informed  of  the  order,  not  one  of  them  would 
fight.  He  said  how  necessary  it  was  to  hasten  matters, 
for  fear  the  emperor  should  send  new  orders,  more  espe- 
cially because  the  lansquenets  formed  the  third  part  of 
the  army. 

Bayard  thanked  him  very  heartily  for  the  good  service 
he  had  rendered  to  the  king,  on  whose  part  he  promised 
him  any  reward  he  might  expect,  "  although,"  added  he, 
"  I  am  the  only  man  to  give  him  an  account  of  it.  Let 
us  go  to  our  general,  the  Duke  of  Xemours.  He  is  now 
holding  a  council,  and  we  will  declare  to  him  what  you 
have  just  told  me." 

When  they  arrived,  opinions  were  divided.  Some 
had  good  reasons  why  battle  should  not  be  given  ;  others 
had  good  reasons  why  it  should  be,  and  that  imme- 


i6o  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

diately.  The  first  said,  "  If  we  lose  it,  which  is  possible, 
all  Italy  is  lost  to  the  king,  and  not  one  of  us  will  escape. 
We  shall  have  to  cross  three  or  four  rivers  in  our  re- 
treat, and  we  have  enemies  on  all  sides — the  pope,  the 
Venetians,  the  Spaniards,  and  the  Swiss,  and  we  can 
trust  but  little  to  the  emperor." 

The  others  said,  "  Our  position  forces  us  to  give 
battle,  or  to  die  with  hunger  like  wretches  and  cowards. 
We  have  gone  too  far  to  retreat  otherwise  than  in  dis- 
order, and  covered  with  shame." 

The  Duke  of  Nemours,  already  informed  by  Bayard 
of  what  had  brought  him  there  with  the  Captain  Jacob, 
was  urgent  for  the  battle,  and  presented  the  letters 
of  the  king,  his  uncle,  which  arrived  daily,  because  of 
the  fear  he  was  in  of  being  attacked  in  his  kingdom  on 
all  sides  at  once.  However,  the  duke  asked  the  advice 
of  Bayard,  who,  without  mentioning  the  secret  he  knew, 
answered,  "  I  only  arrived  yesterday,  my  lord,  so  I  do 
not  know  the  enemy's  forces  as  my  comrades  do,  who 
have  been  near  enough  to  skirmish  with  them  ;  but  as 
you  ask  my  advice,  and  I  have  heard  that  some  are  in 
favour  of  battle,  and  others  against  it,  I  may  tell  them 
that  it  is  always  dangerous  to  give  battle,  and  perhaps 
very  much  so  in  this  instance,  on  account  of  your  situa- 
tion ;  one  ought  not  to  expose  oneself  to  it  without 
much  prudence.  However,  taking  into  consideration 
the  state  of  the  enemy  and  our  own,  I  think  you  ought 
to  give  battle,  because  you  have  already  made  your 
approaches  before  Ravenna,  and  to-morrow  you  ought 
to  cannonade  it,  in  order  to  give  the  assault  as  soon  as 
the  breach  is  made.  You  know  that  the  Lord  Marc 
Antony  Colonna,  who  has  been  here  more  than  thirteen 
days,  only  entered  here  on  the  word  and  oath  of  the 
Viceroy  of  Naples,  general  of  the   Spaniards,  of  the 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  i6i 

Lord  Fabricius  Colonna,  his  uncle,  of  Don  Pedro  of 
Navarre,  and  all  the  captains,  to  give  him  help,  if  he 
can  wait  till  to-morrow,  or  at  the  latest  till  Easter-day. 
You  know,  also,  that  they  have  the  power  to  keep  their 
word,  since  they  are  close  upon  our  army  ;  besides,  we 
shall  not  be  able  to  remain  in  the  position  in  which  we 
are  now,  and  we  shall  want  provisions  and  forage,  and 
the  king  presses  you  to  give  battle  as  the  only  means  of 
keeping,  not  only  his  duchy  of  JVIilan,  but  his  whole 
kingdom,  for  the  causes  which  he  writes  to  you,  so  I 
conclude  that  we  must  fight,  and  endeavour  to  act  wisely, 
for  we  have  a  large  and  fine  army  at  stake.  But  one 
thing  comforts  me.  For  two  years  the  Spaniards  have 
done  little  else  but  eat  and  drink ;  they  are  so  stout 
and  unwieldy  that  they  are  not  active,  whereas  our 
men  have  known  what  it  was  to  want  food,  and  will  have 
better  breath,  and  I  assure  you  that  the  field  will  remain 
to  the  side  which  fights  longest." 

This  remark  made  every  one  laugh,  but  it  was  none 
the  less  sensible  for  that.  The  Lords  of  Lautrec, 
Chabannes,'  Crussol,  the  grand  seneschal  of  Normandy, 
and  nearly  all  the  captains  ranged  themselves  on  Bayard's 
side,  and  on  the  spot  all  the  officers  of  the  gendarmes  and 
foot-soldiers  had  orders  to  prepare  to  give  battle. 

The  next  day,  which  was  Good  Friday,  the  town  of 
Ravenna  was  so  vigorously  cannonaded  that  the  Spani- 
ards could  count  each  separate  discharge  in  their 
camp,  so  they  prepared  for  their  duty  of  helping  the 
town,  as  they  had  engaged  to  do.  They  answered  from 
the  chief  square  to  the  cannon  of  the  French,  who  had 
two  brave  men  so  dangerously  wounded  that  they  died 

'  He  had  just  succeeded  the  Marshal  of  Chaumont  as  grand- 
master of  France. 

M 


1 62  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

a  few  days  afterwards  at  Ferrara.  One  was  the  Lord  of 
I'Espi,  grand-master  of  the  artillery,  who  had  an  arque- 
bus wound  in  the  arm,  the  other  the  Lord  of  Chatillon- 
Coligny,  provost  of  Paris,  who  received  a  similar  wound 
in  the  thigh.     They  were  both  men  worthy  of  regret. 

When  the  breach  was  made  in  the  town,  all  those  who 
were  ordered  to  give  the  assault  approached  it,  to  the 
number  of  300  men-at-arms,  and  3000  foot-soldiers.  The 
rest  of  the  army  was  arranged  in  as  good  battle  order  as 
it  could  possibly  be,  and  all  showed  so  much  desire  to 
fight  that  it  seemed  as  if  they  were  going  to  a  fete.  They 
remained  under  arms  for  three  or  four  hours  to  support 
the  assailants,  who  had  enough  to  do  ;  for  if  their  attack 
was  good,  the  defence  was  equally  so.  The  Viscount 
d'Etoge,^  lieutenant  of  the  Count  Robert  de  la  Marck,  and 
Frederic,  Count  of  Bozzolo,  of  the  house  of  Gonzagua, 
signalized  themselves,  and  were  several  times  thrown 
from  the  top  of  the  foss  to  the  bottom.  Mark  Antony 
Colonna,  who  commanded  in  the  square,  encouraged  the 
besieged.  "  Keep  a  good  heart,"  said  he,  "  I  promise 
you  that  we  shall  have  assistance  by  to-morrow.  The 
breach  is  small  and  easy  to  defend,  and  if  we  let  our- 
selves be  captured,  we  are  all  lost  and  dishonoured." 

When  the  French  had  given  five  or  six  assaults,  seeing 
that  the  breach  was  so  well  defended  that  they  could  not 
enter,  they  beat  a  retreat;  and  this  was  perhaps  fortunate, 
for  if  they  had  entered,  they  would  doubtless  have 
amused  themselves  with  the  plunder,  which  would  have 
been  immense,  and  there  might  possibly  have  been,  as 

*  He  was  of  an  illustrious  house,  since  known  under  the  names 
of  Boulemont  and  Givry.  His  grandson,  Rene  d'Anglere,  Vis- 
count d'Etoge,  served  under  Henry  IV.  in  the  battles  of  Senlis 
and  d'lvry,  and  at  the  sieges  of  Paris  and  Rouen.  He  was 
killed  at  the  siege  of  Laon  in  1594. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  163 

at  Brescia,  a  great  desertion,  whicli  would  have  caused 
the  loss  of  the  battle,  which  was  given  on  Easter-day, 
the  11th  of  April.  The  Duke  of  Xemours  withdrew 
his  army  also,  so  that  they  might  rest,  and  be  in  a  con- 
dition to  fight,  which  would  soon  be  inevitable,  as  the 
enemy  was  only  two  miles  distant. 

He  provided  supper  for  the  principal  officers,  and 
after  the  meal  he  said  to  the  good  knight,  "  Lord 
Bayard,  I  must  tell  you  that  the  Spaniards  fear  you. 
Our  prisoners  tell  us  that  they  are  always  asking  if  you 
are  in  our  camp.  I  am  of  opinion  that  you  should  go 
yourself  to-morrow  morning,  and  so  carry  the  news  of 
your  own  arrival,  and  have  some  good  skirmishing  with 
them,  which  will  oblige  them  to  prepare  for  battle, 
and  you  will  have  an  opportunity  of  judging  of  their 
appearance." 

Bayard,  who  had  never  desired  anything  more  in  his 
life,  seized  the  proposition,  and  answered,  "  I  promise 
you,  my  lord,  that  before  mid-day  to-morrow  I  will 
have  seen  them  so  near  that  I  shall  be  able  to  give  you 
a  good  account  of  them." 

Amongst  the  captains  who  were  present  was  the  Baron 
of  Beam,  lieutenant  of  the  Duke  of  Nemours,  a  brave 
soldier,  and  one  who  was  always  ready  for  a  skirmish. 
He  was  jealous  that  Bayard  was  before  him,  and  deter- 
mined to  be  out  before  him" in  the  morning.  He  con- 
fided his  design  to  his  most  intimate  friends,  who 
promised  to  accompany  him,  and  kept  their  word.  We 
shall  see  how  they  came  out  of  it. 

Bayard  returned  home,  and  sent  for  his  nephew, 
Pierrepont,  who  was  his  lieutenant,  with  his  ensign,  his 
standard-bearer,  and  several  others  of  his  company,  and 
informed  them  of  what  he  had  promised  the  duke.  He 
consulted  them  as  to  the  manner  of  carrying  it  out,  and 


i64  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

added  that  his  design  was  to  unfurl  for  the  first  time 
the  banners  of  the  Duke  of  Lorraine.  "  I  hope,"  said 
he,  "  that  they  will  bring  us  good  luck,  and  that  they 
will  be  more  beautiful  than  the  cornets."  Then  he 
gave  out  his  orders.  He  charged  the  bastard  Du  Fay, 
his  standard-bearer,  to  take  fifty  archers,  with  which  he 
was  to  pass  the  canal  below  the  artillery  of  the  Spani- 
ards, and  give  the  alarm  in  their  camp  as  far  as  he  could 
in  safety,  and  to  retire  in  good  order,  without  hazarding 
anything,  when  he  thought  fit,  until  he  met  Pierrepont, 
who  would  follow  him  closely  with  thirty  men-at-arms, 
and  the  rest  archers ;  "  and,"  added  he,  "  if  you  find 
yourselves  pressed,  I  shall  be  there  to  sustain  you,  and, 
believe  me,  if  we  bear  ourselves  bravely,  we  shall  gain 
honour."  The  men  he  spoke  to  were  too  skilled  not  to 
understand  his  plan  immediately,  and  they  had  men 
under  their  orders  who  were  capable  of  commanding 
armies  themselves.  All  retired  to  rest  until  the  trumpet 
should  wake  them,  which  it  did  not  fail  to  do  at  break 
of  day.  All  were  soon  on  foot,  and  in  marching  order. 
The  Duke  of  Lorraine's  banners  were  unfurled,  and 
gave  good  courage  to  all  the  company,  which  was  dis- 
tributed, as  had  been  arranged  the  evening  before,  in 
three  bands,  each  at  a  bow-shot  from  the  other. 

Bayard  still  knew  nothing  of  the  expedition  of  the 
Baron  of  Beam,  who  had  preceded  him,  and  who  had 
given  such  a  hot  alarm  to  their  enemies  that  all  were 
already  under  arms.  All  went  well  for  him  up  to  that 
time  ;  but  they  fired  two  or  three  cannon  shots  from  the 
Spanish  side,  one  of  which  carried  oflTthe  arms  of  one  of 
his  comrades,  named  Bazillac,  and  another  killed  the 
Lord  of  Berzar's  horse  under  him.  Both  of  these  gentle- 
men belonged  to  the  Duke  of  Nemours'  company.  The 
duke  was  much  grieved  for  them,  especially  for  Bazillac, 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  165 

to  whom  he  was  much  attached.  After  these  artillery 
shots,  the  skirmishers  were  assailed  by  120  Spanish  and 
Neapolitan  men-at-arms,  who  made  them  retreat,  and 
afterwards  gained  the  plain  at  full  gallop.  The  first  of 
the  routed  troop  met  Du  Fav,  who  did  not  venture 
farther,  and  informed  Bavard  of  the  encounter.  The 
knight  sent  him  to  join  the  Captain  Pierrepont,  and 
himself  reached  them  with  his  troop,  making  of  the  three 
companies  but  one.  Then  he  saw  the  Baron  of  Beam 
and  his  flying  soldiers,  and  the  enemy  following  them 
closely,  and  already  past  the  canal.  He  would  not  have 
taken  the  whole  world  as  a  gift  to  have  changed  places 
with  any  one. 

"  Follow  me,  my  companions ! "  he  cried,  both  to  his 
own  men  and  to  the  fugitives,  "  they  are  ours ! "  His 
voice  alone  rallied  them,  but  to  show  them  an  example, 
he  threw  himself,  first  of  all,  into  the  midst  of  the  Spani- 
ards, and,  soon  followed  by  his  troop,  showed  himself, 
as  he  always  did,  gi^eat  in  valour.  His  first  strokes 
upset  five  or  six  of  the  enemy,  who  made  no  wonder- 
ment at  that,  but  put  themselves  in  good  order  of  de- 
fence ;  yet  at  the  same  time  they  turned  their  backs, 
and  crossed  the  canal  quicker  than  they  had  come. 
Bayard  and  his  soldiers  pursued  them  quite  into  their 
camp,  where  all  was  in  battle  order,  and  where  they 
overturned  all  who  opposed  them,  and  knocked  down 
all  the  tents  and  pavilions  they  came  to. 

However,  the  knight,  whose  eye  was  everywhere,  per- 
ceived a  body  of  cavalry,  consisting  of  nearly  300  men- 
at-arms,  marching  towards  them  in  a  close  squadron, 
in  order  to  surround  them.  He  immediately  beat  a 
retreat,  saying  to  Pierrepont,  "  There  are  too  many  men 
here  for  our  small  number  to  compete  with." 

They  took  the  road  to  the  canal,  and  thence  returned 


1 66  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

to  their  camp,  without  having  lost  a  single  man.  The 
Spaniards  let  them  go,  excepting  five  or  six,  who  fol- 
lowed them,  demanding  to  break  lances  with  them. 
Bayard  would  not  allow  it,  although  many  of  his  com- 
pany had  a  great  desire  to  do  so;  but  he  feared  that  that 
might  engage  them  in  some  new  skirmish,  and  that  the 
time  was  not  propitious  for  such  an  occurrence.  From 
the  record  we  have  of  Bayard's  actions,  we  find  that  his 
valour  was  always  tempered  with  wisdom,  and  that,  as 
he  was  the  bravest  officer  of  his  age,  he  was  also  the 
most  prudent,  and  his  prudence  never  left  him,  even  in 
the  hottest  fields. 

The  Duke  of  Nemours,  informed  of  the  knight's  ex- 
pedition before  he  arrived  at  the  camp,  ran  to  embrace 
him,  saying,  "  You  are  the  man,  Lord  Bayard,  for  skir- 
mishes. No  one  knows  so  well  as  you  do,  either  how  to 
begin  or  how  to  finish  them ;  you  are  our  master  in  the 
art  of  war,  as  you  have  clearly  shown  to-day." 

That  same  day,  which  was  the  eve  of  the  battle  of 
Ravenna,  the  duke  assembled  together  all  his  captains, 
both  of  foot  and  horse,  and  spoke  to  them  thus: — "You 
see,  sirs,  that  we  are  here  in  a  country  where  everything 
is  wanting  to  us ;  and  that  the  longer  we  remain  here, 
the  more  exhausted  we  shall  become.  The  town  of 
Ravenna  bounds  us  on  the  one  side,  and  our  enemies  on 
the  other,  within  cannon-shot  of  us.  I  am  informed  that 
the  Venetians  and  Swiss  threaten  to  descend  upon  the 
duchy  of  Milan,  where  you  know  we  have  not  left  strong 
forces.  My  uncle,  the  king,  is  daily  pressing  me  to  give 
battle,  and  I  think,  if  he  knew  our  situation,  he  would 
urge  me  to  it  still  more  forcibly.  Thus,  considering  all 
things,  I  think  we  cannot  defer  it  any  longer ;  and  I 
hope  that,  with  the  help  of  God  and  the  good-will  of 
our  army,  we  shall,  for  our   master's  honour  and  our 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  167 

own,  soon  march  upon  our  enemies.  If  God  favours  us, 
to  Him  we  will  render  thanks  ;  if  we  are  unsuccessful, 
His  will  be  done.  As  to  me,  do  not  doubt  that  I  would 
sooner  die  than  lose  the  day,  and  if  God  orders  it  so, 
our  enemies  will  be  cowards  if  they  spare  me,  for  I  will 
not  spare  them.  Give  me  your  opinions  now,  and  I 
will  follow  them."  Chabannes  spoke  first,  and  voted  for 
battle,  and  the  sooner  the  better.  He  was  supported  by 
the  grand  equerry,^  the  gtand  seneschal  of  Normandy, 
the  Lord  of  Crussol,  Louis  d'Ars,  and  all  the  other 
heads  of  the  army.  Battle  was  then  fixed  for  the  next 
day,  Easter  Sunday. 


^  Peter  d'Urfe,  grand-bailie  of  Forc-y,  of  an  ancient  and  noble 
house  now  extinct. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


HEY  began  by  building  a  bridge  over  the 
canal,  of  which  we  have  spoken,  for  the 
artillery  and  foot-soldiers  to  cross  by ;  as 
for  the  cavalry,  they  would  have  no  diffi- 
culty, as  the  canal  was  fordable  and  the  banks  easy  to 
climb.  Bayard  was  of  opinion  that  they  should  settle 
the  plan  of  the  battle,  so  that  each  one  should  know  his 
place,  and  what  he  had  to  do  "  Because,"  said  he,  "  all 
the  prisoners  whom  I  have  questioned  have  told  me 
that  it  is  the  custom  of  the  Spaniards  to  make  one  troop 
of  their  infantry  and  two  of  their  cavalry  ;  so  I  think 
we  ought  to  arrange  our  plans,  taking  that  fact  into 
consideration." 

His  advice  was  received  with  applause,  and  the  plan 
was  immediately  arranged. 

It  was  decreed  that  the  lansquenets,  with  the  foot- 
soldiers  of  Captains  Molard,  Bonnet,  Maugiron,  the 
Baron  of  Grammont,  Bardassan,  and  others,  to  the 
number  of  6000  men,  should  march  together,  and  form 
one  large  body,  flanked  by  the  2000  Gascons  of  Captain 
Odet  d'Aydie,  and  the  cadet  of  Duras ;  that  all  should 
go  and  place  themselves  at  a  cannon-shot  from  the 
enemy,  having  the  artillery  before  them  ;  and  that  they 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  169 

should  cannonade  the  Spaniards  to  make  them  leave 
their  fort,  as  their  principal  precaution  had  been  to 
encamp  themselves  well :  that  after  the  foot-soldiers, 
and  Cjuite  near  to  them,  the  Duke  of  Ferrara  and  Cha- 
bannes  should  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  vanguard, 
and  with  them  the  gentlemen  to  the  number  of  800 
men-at-arms,  under  the  orders  of  the  grand  seneschal, 
the  grand  equerry,  Humbercourt,  La  Cropte-Daillon, 
Theodore  Trivulce,  and  others ;  and  finally,  near  them, 
and  directly  opposite,  the  Duke  of  Nemours  with  his 
company,  his  cousin  Lautrec,  D'Alegre,  Louis  d'Ars, 
Bayard,  and  some  others,  making  in  all  400  men-at- 
arms  ;  that  the  Italian  infantry,  to  the  number  of  about 
4000,  should  remain  on  the  near  side  of  the  canal  in 
care  of  the  baggages,  for  fear  that  those  of  Ravenna 
should  come  and  make  a  sally.  This  infantry  was  under 
the  command  of  Counts  Nicholas  and  Francis  Scottie,  of 
Plaisance,  of  the  Marquis  Malaspina,  and  other  officers 
of  the  same  nation.  It  was  decided  that  the  bastard  Du 
Fay,  having  a  command  and  with  the  chief  standard, 
should  guard  the  bridge  till  further  orders. 

As  soon  as  the  day  dawned  the  lansquenets  crossed 
the  first ;  but  Captain  Molard,  jealous  of  the  honour  of 
preceding  them,  cried  out  to  his  men,  "  What !  my 
friends,  shall  it  be  said  that  the  lansquenets  have  seen 
the  enemy  before  us  ?  I  would  sooner  lose  one  of  my 
eyes  than  that  should  happen." 

He  immediately  plunged  into  the  water,  and  followed 
by  all  his  men,  up  to  their  waists  in  water,  they  crossed 
the  canal  fully  equipped,  and  reached  the  other  side 
before  the  lansquenets  ;  the  artillery  crossed  next,  and 
were  placed  at  the  head  of  the  foot-soldiers  ranged  in 
battle  order ;  after  them  the  infantry  passed  with  the 
men-at-arms. 


lyo  SPOTLESS   AND   FEARLESS. 

During  this  march  a  singular  circumstance  happened. 
The  Duke  of  Nemours,  armed  at  all  points,  and  magnifi- 
cently attired  in  a  dress  blazoned  with  the  arms  of  Foix 
and  Navarre,  having  gone  out  very  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, remarked  that  the  sun  rose  as  red  as  blood ;  he 
pointed  it  out  to  those  who  accompanied  him,  amongst 
whom  was  a  gentleman  very  familiar  with  him,  named 
Hautbourdin,  a  wit,  who  said  to  him,  "  Do  you  know, 
my  lord,  what  sign  that  is  ?  That  is  a  token  that  some 
great  prince  or  captain  will  die  to-day  :  it  must  be 
either  you  or  the  Viceroy  of  Naples." 

The  duke  smiled  at  this,  as  he  always  did  at  Haut- 
bourdin's  sallies ;  afterwards  he  went  forward  to  see  his 
army  defile,  which  it  did  with  great  diligence.  Bayard, 
who  was  near  him,  asked  him  to  walk  with  him  along 
the  canal  with  the  Lords  of  Lautrec,  D'Alegre,  and 
some  others,  to  the  number  of  about  twenty.  They  saw 
afar  off  the  movements  of  the  Spanish  camp,  where  they 
were  preparing  for  battle,  judging  that  it  must  take 
place  on  that  day.  The  duke  then  said  to  Bayard, 
"  We  are  just  under  their  fire  ;  if  they  had  arquebusiers 
placed  there,  they  could  pick  us  off  easily." 

At  this  moment  they  perceived  a  body  of  twenty  or 
thirty  Spanish  knights,  amongst  whom  was  the  general 
of  the  cavalry,  Don  Pedro  de  Paes.  Bayard  advanced 
towards  them,  saluted  them,  and  said  to  them,  "  My 
lords,  you  are  walking  about,  as  we  are,  waiting  for  the 
beginning  of  the  battle  ;  I  pray  you  not  to  allow  arque- 
buses' to  be  fired  from  your  side,  and  I  promise  you 
none  shall  be  from  ours." 

This  they  agreed  to,  and  then  Don  Pedro  begged  him 
to  say  who  he  was,  the  Spaniard  having  heard  of  the 
glory  which  he  had  acquired  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples. 
Learning  his  name,  he  safd  to  him  with  a  very  good  grace. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  171 

'*  Lord  Bayard,  although  your  arrival  in  the  French 
camp  may  not  be  a  subject  of  rejoicing  to  us — in  fact, 
on  the  contrary,  we  consider  it  as  good  as  a  reinforce- 
ment of  2000  men  for  them — still  I  am  no  less  glad 
to  see  you ;  and  if  it  please  God  that  peace  shall  be 
established  between  our  nations,  I  will  prove  to  you  the 
esteem  I  feel  for  you,  and  the  wish  I  have  to  be  num- 
bered amongst  your  friends." 

The  knight  returned  his  civility  with  his  accustomed 
modesty,  after  which  Don  Pedro  asked  him  who  that 
lord  was  so  magnificently  accoutred,  and  to  whom 
everybody  paid  so  much  respect. 

"He  is,"  said  Bayard,  "our  general,  the  Duke  of 
Nemours,  the  brother  of  your  queen." 

He  had  hardly  spoken,  when  this  Spaniard  and  all 
with  him  advanced  towards  the  duke,  dismounted  and 
did  homage  to  him,  assuring  him  that,  saving  the  service 
of  the  king  their  master,  they  would  profess  themselves 
his  servants  all  their  lives.  The  duke  received  their 
compliment  very  graciously,  and  after  a  little  conversa- 
tion they  separated,  each  to  his  post. 

The  French,  while  marching,  perceived  the  enemy's 
vanguard,  commanded  by  Fabricius  Colonna,  full  in 
sight,  and  within  gun-shot  distance.  Bayard  and 
D'Alegre  remarked  the  circumstance  to  the  Duke  of 
Nemours. 

"  Do  you  see,"  said  he,  "  that  magnificent  troop  of 
horsemen  ?  If  we  only  had  two  pieces  of  artillery  here, 
we  could  easily  reach  them." 

D'Alegre  went  himself  to  order  a  cannon  and  a  eul- 
verin  to  be  brought  forward,  which  they  fired  so  vigo- 
rously and  so  quickly  on  the  enemy's  troop  that  they  had 
300  men-at-arms  down  in  a  moment ;  and  their  chief,  the 
Lord  Fabricius,  declared,  when  he  was  a  prisoner  at 


172  SPOTLESS   AND   FEARLESS. 

Ferrara,  that  a  single  shot  had  killed  thirty-three  men. 
The  Spaniards  were  terribly  frightened,  not  knowing 
whence  the  shots  came  that  overthrew  them.  Their 
general  had  expressly  commanded  them  not  to  leave 
their  posts  until  the  French  should  go  to  attack  them ; 
but  they  were  forced  to  leave  their  places,  notwith- 
standing their  commanding  officer,  to  whom  they  said  in 
their  tongue,  "  By  the  body  of  God,  we  are  going  to 
fight  men,  and  Heaven  crushes  us ! " 

However,  from  the  side  of  the  Spanish  camp,  which 
was  extremely  strong,  and  protected  by  a  good  ditch, 
the  artillery  had  begun  its  play.  Behind  the  foss  all  the 
foot-soldiers,  to  protect  themselves  from  the  French, 
were  lying  on  their  faces  :  their  defence,  which  was  in 
front  of  them,  consisted  of  twenty  pieces,  cannons  and 
culverins  too,  and  about  200  arquebuses  a  croc,  and 
between  each  two  a  little  wheeled  truck,  upon  which 
were  sharp  pieces  of  iron,  like  scythes,  to  cut  down  the 
French  foot-soldiers  as  they  advanced.  On  one  wing 
was  Fabricius  Colonna  with  the  vanguard,  composed  of 
800  men-at-arms ;  a  little  higher  up  was  the  body  of 
the  army,  commanded  by  Don  Raymond  of  Cardonna, 
who  had  more  than  400  men-at-arms  ;  and  still  nearer 
to  him  were  2000  Italians,  commanded  by  Ramassot. 
But  as  to  their  soldiery,  never  were  seen  finer  or  more 
active  troops. 

As  soon  as  the  Duke  of  Nemours  had  passed  the 
canal,  he  gave  orders  that  all  should  march,  notwith- 
standing the  enemies'  fire,  which  picked  out  the  French 
infantry  as  if  they  had  been  targets,  and  had  already 
killed  2000  before  the  battle  commenced;  amongst 
others  four  captains,  who  were  much  regretted — Jarses, 
Le  Herisson,  Molard,  and  Philip  of  Friberg,  all  brave 
men,  full  of  courage  and  experience.     However,  not- 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  173 

withstanding  the  Spanish  fire,  the  French  did  not 
slacken  speed,  but  still  marched  forward.  On  the  other 
side,  the  vanguard,  commanded  by  Fabricius  Colonna, 
driven  out,  as  we  have  seen,  came  into  the  open  field  to 
fight,  and  marched  straight  to  the  point  where  the 
Duke  of  Xemours  and  some  few  of  the  soldiery  were. 

The  French  in  this  body,  overjoyed  at  commencing 
the  attack,  rushed  upon  their  enemies.  The  Spaniards 
had  divided  into  two  parties,  thinking  to  surround  their 
opponents.  Bayard  saw  it  at  first,  and  advised  the 
duke  to  divide  his  men  into  two  bodies,  which  was 
immediately  done.  Then  the  Spaniards  began  crying 
with  all  their  might,  "  Spain  !  "  "  St.  lago,  a  os  cavallos  ! " 
(upon  the  horses),  and  fell  upon  the  French,  only 
wishing  to  kill  their  horses  ;  but  they  were  received  with 
equal  fury  by  the  French,  who  cried,  "  France  !  '* 
"France!"  "  To  horse!"  and,  like  their  enemies,  tried 
to  unhorse  them,  according  to  the  proverb,  which  says, 
"  Kill  the  horse,  and  the  man-at-arms  is  lost."  There 
was  never,  perhaps,  a  more  bloody  and  furious  combat 
than  that  which  was  fought  then,  and  which  lasted  more 
than  an  hour  and  a-half.  Both  parties  were  obliged  to 
stop  and  take  breath  ;  then  they  began  their  ordinary 
cries  more  briskly  than  before.  The  Spaniards  were 
half  as  numerous  again  as  the  French.^ 

The  Lord  D'Alegre,  seeing  the  victory  undecided, 
ran  to  the  vanguard,  and  cried  to  the  band  of  the  Lord 
of  la  Marck,  whom  he  met  the  first,  and  who  was  dis- 
tinguishable by  his  black  and  white  colours,  "  After  wie, 
black  and  ichite  and  the  archers  of  the  guard  l'' 

'  The  Spanish  army  consisted  of  20,000  men,  and  the  French 
of  15,400,  according  to  an  account  kept  in  the  record  chamber 
at   Grenoble ;    but  we  see  that  4,000  remained  to  guard  the 


174  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

The  Duke  of  Ferrara  and  Chabannes,  concluding  that 
pressing  necessity  had  induced  him  to  call  them,  sent 
their  men  at  full  speed  towards  the  Duke  of  Xemours, 
who  had  already  made  the  enemy  retreat  by  degrees. 
This  reinforcement  was  fatal  to  the  Spanish,  for  these 
archers  of  the  guard  carried  on  their  saddle-bows,  little 
hatchets,  which  were  useful  to  them  in  putting  up  their 
tents :  they  used  them  now,  and  gave  the  Spaniards 
such  terrific  blows  with  them  that  they  knocked  down 
every  man  they  touched.  Finally,  they  forced  the 
enemy  to  leave  the  camp,  leaving  300  or  400  men-at- 
arms  on  the  field  between  the  two  ditches,  besides  many 
Neapolitan  lords  whom  they  took  prisoners,  and  whose 
lives  were  saved. 

Bayard,  seeing  the  Duke  of  Xemours  covered  with 
blood,  and  with  the  brains  of  one  of  his  slain  men  by  his 
side,  asked  him  if  he  were  not  wounded,  as  he  thought 
he  was. 

"  No,"  said  the  duke,  "but  I  have  wounded  others." 

"  God  be  praised,"  Bayard  replied,  "  the  battle  is 
yours.  You  have  covered  yourself  with  glory  to-day  ; 
but  remain  here,  assemble  your  soldiers,  and  doliot  allow 
them  to  begin  plundering.  It  is  not  time  for  that  yet. 
The  Captain  Louis  d'Ars  and  I  are  going  to  follow  the 
fugitives,  and  hinder  them  from  leaving  before  their 
foot-soldiers ;  but  do  not  leave  here  till  he  or  I  come  to 
you."  The  duke  promised  to  do  as  Bayard  wished,  but 
did  not  keep  his  word,  and  paid  for  it  by  his  life  in  a 
manner  which  deserves  a  detailed  account. 

We  have  noticed  that,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
action,  the  Spanish  foot-soldiers  had  thrown  themselves 
flat  on  their  faces  to  escape  the  fire  of  the  French  artil- 
lery, and  that  their  fort  was  so  constructed  that  they 
could  not  be  seen,  so  that  it  was  very  dangerous  to  attack 


I 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  175 

them.  Now  the  P'rench  were  only  two  pikes'  length 
from  them.  The  2000  Gascons  were  then  ordered  to  go, 
in  spite  of  the  danger,  and  attack  them  from  the  rear, 
and  discharge  their  arrows  at  them  to  make  them  get  up. 
The  Captain  Odet  and  the  Captain  Duras  got  ready  to 
do  so;  but  they  explained  that  they  wanted  some  pike- 
men  to  support  them,  in  case  their  foot-soldiers,  having 
discharged  all  their  arrows,  should  be  charged  by 
Spanish  ensigns.  The  Lord  of  Moncaure  was  ordered 
to  go  and  help  them  with  1000  Picards  whom  he  com- 
manded. 

The  archers  discharged  their  arrows,  and  slew  a  great 
number  of  Spaniards,  which  obliged  the  others  to  rise, 
and  form  in  battle  order :  but  two  ensigns  immediately 
appeared  behind  them,  with  1000  or  1200  men  each,  who 
fell  upon  the  Gascons,  and  broke  them  (whether  it  was 
their  fault  or  that  of  the  Picards),  killed  the  Lord  of 
Moncaure,  the  lieutenant  of  the  Captain  Odet,  that  of 
the  cadet  of  Duras,  and  many  other  very  good  officers. 
The  Spanish  uttered  loud  cries  of  joy,  as  if  they  had 
gained  the  battle,  although  their  defeat  was  already 
decided,  and  the  two  ensigns  returned  no  more  to  their 
rear,  but  took  the  road  to  Ravenna,  marching  four 
abreast  along  the  bank  of  the  canal.  We  must  leave 
them  a  moment,  and  relate  what  followed  the  attack  of 
the  Gascons.  The  Spanish,  standing,  advanced  upon  the 
border  of  their  ditch,  where,  the  French  assailed  them 
with  incredible  bravery ;  but  they  were  received  with 
arquebus  strokes,  which  killed  many  of  them ;  amongst 
others,  that  famous  Captain  Jacob,  whom  we  have  be- 
fore mentioned  with  honour  ;  he  received  a  gun-shot 
through  the  body,  which  only  gave  him  time  to  say  to 
his  comrades  in  his  own  tongue,  "  Friends,  serve  the 
king  as  well  as  he  serves  us,"  and  he  immediately  fell 


176  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

dead.  He  had  brought  with  him  a  captain  named 
Fabian,  one  of  the  largest,  handsomest,  and  strongest 
men  that  could  be  seen,  who,  seeing  his  good  friend  and 
commander  slain,  only  wished  to  live  to  avenge  his 
death,  and  performed  a  deed  of  unexampled  strength 
and  bravery.  He  threw  himself  into  the  middle  of  the 
Spaniards'  pikes,  holding  his  own  across,  and  made  them 
lower  their  points  to  the  earth,  where  he  held  them  by 
the  strength  of  his  arms  alone,  and  by  that  means  gave 
the  French  an  opportunity  of  leaping  the  ditch,  which 
was  not  accomplished  without  much  bloodshed  on  both 
sides,  for  a  better  defence  was  never  seen  than  that 
which  the  Spaniards  opposed  to  this  attack. 

The  French  lost  in  this  action  the  Baron  of  Grara- 
m.ont,  the  Lords  of  Maugiron  and  Bardassan,  who  had 
been  prodigiously  valorous.  The  Captain  Bonnet  re- 
ceived a  pike-thrust  in  the  forehead,  and  the  head  re- 
mained in  the  wound.  In  fine,  the  loss  of  the  French 
was  great,  not  only  in  number,  but  considering  also  the 
quality  and  merit  of  the  dead ;  but  on  the  Spanish 
side  it  was  very  difierent,  for  whilst  they  supported  the 
attack  from  the  ditch  of  which  we  have  spoken,  the 
soldiers  of  the  French  vanguard,  having  attacked  them 
on  the  flank,  routed  them,  and  did  not  leave  one  of 
them,  excepting  only  the  general,  Don  Pedro  of  Na- 
varre,"'^ and  some  other  principal  officers,  whom  they 
took  prisoners. 

To  return  to  those  two  ensigns  whom  we  have  seen 
taking  the  road  to  Ravenna,  and  following  the  course 


-  He  was  a  soldier  of  fortune.  His  merit  and  talents  pro- 
moted him  to  the  first  military  dignities.  It  is  said  that  he 
was  the  first  to  invent  mines.  He  passed  from  the  Spanish 
service  to  that  of  France,  under  Francis  I. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  177 

of  the  canal.  The  Duke  of  Xemours  remaining  at  the 
place  where  Bayard  had  urgently  recommended  him  to 
await  news  of  the  action,  perceived  these  two  ensigns, 
who  were  retiring,  whilst  some  of  the  defeated  Gascons 
were  flying  towards  him.  He  asked  what  it  was. 
One  of  the  fugitives  replied,  "  The  Spaniards  have  de- 
feated us." 

The  prince,  thinking  that  his  whole  infantry  was 
routed,  without  looking  to  see  whether  he  was  accom- 
panied or  not,  rushed  to  their  rescue  in  despair  into  that 
way,  having  only  fourteen  or  fifteen  men  with  him. 

To  complete  the  misfortune,  the  Spaniards  had  re- 
loaded several  arquebuses,  which  they  fired  on  him  and 
his  escort,  then  fell  upon  them  with  their  pikes.  The 
French  could  not  easily  move,  not  only  because  the 
road  was  narrow,  but  it  was  bordered  on  one  side  by  a 
canal,  and  on  the  other  by  a  very  deep  ditch.  All  the 
escort  was  killed  or  thrown  into  the  canal  or  ditch.  The 
duke's  horse  having  been  hamstrung,  his  loss  compelled 
his  master  to  fight  on  foot,  having  no  other  defensive 
weapon  than  his  sword.  Assailed  by  a  crowd  of  ene- 
mies, he  defended  himself  like  a  true  hero.  He  was 
vigorously  seconded  by  his  cousin  Lautrec,  who  cried  to 
the  Spanish,  "  Do  not  kill  him ;  he  is  our  general,  the 
brother  of  your  queen," 

In  spite  of  Lautrec's  cries,  they  finished  him,  having 
given  him  so  many  cuts  that  he  had  fourteen  or  fifteen 
on  his  face  alone.  Vivarotz,  son  of  the  Lord  d'Alegre, 
was  thrown  into  the  ditch,  and  his  father  had  already 
been  killed  at  the  defeat  of  the  foot-soldiers.  Lautrec 
and  some  others  were  left  for  dead,  after  which  the 
Spanish  fled  along  the  same  road,  which  was  nearly  ten 
miles  long. 

Half  way,  they  met  Bayard  returning  from  the  pur- 


1 78  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

suit  of  the  fugitives,  with  about  forty  men,  so  fatigued 
that  neither  they  nor  their  horses  could  keep  up.  How- 
ever, they  considered  it  their  duty  to  charge  them,  and 
prepared  to  do  so  ;  but  one  of  the  Spanish  chiefs  ad- 
vanced from  the  ranks,  and  said  to  him,  "  What  do  you 
want  to  do  ?  You  must  plainly  see  that  you  have  not 
enough  men  with  you  to  fight  against  us.  You  have 
gained  the  battle,  in  which  all  our  men  have  lost  their 
lives,  and  it  is  only  by  a  miracle  that  we  have  escaped. 
Be  satisfied  wijth  the  honour  of  the  victory,  and  let  us 
pass," 

Bayard  consented  to  this,  on  condition  that  they 
should  give  up  the  ensigns.  They  gave  them  up,  and 
then  gave  the  knight  a  passage  through  the  middle 
of  their  troop,  and  continued  their  road.  Alas !  if 
he  had  known  of  their  last  exploit,  and  that  the  Duke 
of  Nemours  had  just  died  by  their  hands,  he  would  not 
have  let  them  go  without  attacking  them,  and  would 
have  rather  died  a  thousand  times  than  not  have 
avenged  himself. 

During  the  battle,  and  before  the  total  defeat  of  the 
Spaniards,  the  Viceroy,  Don  Raymont  of  Cardona, 
had  fled  with  300  men-at-arms,  and  Ramassot  with  his 
2000  Italian  foot-soldiers.  These  were  all  that  escaped  ; 
the  remainder  were  killed  or  taken  prisoners.  The  battle 
had  commenced  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  it 
was  four  in  the  afternoon  when  Bayard  and  the  others 
returned  to  the  camp.  The  news  of  the  Duke  of  Ne- 
mours' death  was  already  spread  there,  and  the  con- 
sternation, cries,  and  tears  were  such  that  2,000  fresh 
troops  would  have  been  more  than  a  match  for  the 
whole  army,  more  especially  that  all  were  spent  with 
fatigue.  The  body  of  the  duke  was  carried  to  his 
lodgings  by  his  gentlemen,  and  there  the  crying  and 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  179 

sobbing  began  again,  and  did  not  leave  off  for  a  long 
time,  this  prince,  the  most  accomplished  man  of  his 
time,  knew  so  well  how  to  gain  the  friendship,  con- 
fidence, and  hearts  of  all  his  armj,  both  great  and 
small. 

Finally,  we  must  say  of  this  battle  of  Ravenna  that 
perhaps  there  never  was  such  a  cruel,  murderous  en- 
gagement, and  that  on  both  sides  they  fought  with  a 
fury  that  history  furnishes  few  examples  of.  If  tlie 
Spaniards  lost  many,  their  number  being,  as  we  have 
seen,  nearly  twice  as  numerous  as  that  of  the  French,  and 
nearly  all  being  left  dead  on  the  field,  we  must  also  con- 
fess that  the  loss  on  the  French  side  was  very  great^ 
on  account  of  the  great  number  of  good  officers  who 
perished  there.  Their  greatest  loss  was  that  of  the 
incomparable  Duke  of  ^STemours,  in  whom  nature  had 
united  all  human  virtues,  and  who,  if  he  had  lived, 
would  have  been  King  of  Naples  ;  but  God  disposed  of 
him  according  to  His  will.  AVith  him  died  on  this  un- 
happy day  the  brave  D'Alegre  and  his  son  Vivarotz, 
La  Cropte-Daillon,  the  Lieutenant  D'Humbercourt,  the 
Captains  ]\Iolard,  Jacob,  De  Friberg,  Maugiron,  the 
Baron  of  Grammont,  Bardassan,  and  many  others ;  about 
3000  foot-soldiers,  twenty-four  men-at-arms  under  the 
king's  orders,  seven  gentlemen  of  his  house,  and  nine 
archers  of  his  guard.  The  greater  number  of  those  who 
did  not  perish  on  this  bloody  day  were  wounded. 

On  the  Spanish  side  twenty  captsins  of  infantry  regi- 
ments and  nearly  10,000  of  their  men  died  ;  of  their 
cavalry  more  than  thirty  captains  or  standard-beai-ers, 
with  800  men-at-arms,  besides  Don  Menaldo  of  Car- 
dona,  Don  Diego  of  Quignonez,  and  the  Captains  Alva- 
rado  and  Alphonse  of  Stella.  Their  infantry  general, 
Don   Pedro  of  Navarre,  was  made  prisoner  there,  with 


i8o  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

Don  John  of  Cardona,  the  Marquises  of  Licite,  of  La 
Padule,  and  of  Pescara,  the  Duke  of  Traijetter,  the 
Counts  of  Conches  and  of  Pepoli,  the  Cardinal  de  Me- 
dieis,  the  Pope's  legate,  and  more  than  100  other  lords 
or  captains.  All  the  artillery,  the  arquebuses,  and  bag- 
gage remained  there.  In  fine,  out  of  an  army  of  more 
than  20,000  men,  16,000  were  slain  or  taken.  The 
Lord  Mark  Antony  Colonna  had  the  good  fortune  to 
retire  into  the  citadel  of  Ravenna,  \yhich  was  strong, 
and  capable  of  a  good  defence. 

The  next  day  the  town  was  plundered  by  the  lans- 
quenets and  the  French  foot-soldiers,  notwithstanding 
the  defences  which  had  been  made.  This  was  by  the 
base  orders  of  the  Captain  Jacquin  Caumont,  whose  death 
verified  the  horoscope  of  the  astrologer  of  Carpi ;  for 
Chabannes,  who  had  been  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
army,  had  him  hanged. 

This  day  at  Ravenna  would  have  been  great  in  its 
results  had  it  not  been  for  the  death  of  the  Duke  of 
Nemours,  and  the  French  would,  doubtless,  have  pro- 
fited by  their  victory,  but  this  misfortune,  added  to  the 
news  that  the  Lord  Trivulce  incessantly  gave  them, 
that  the  Venetians  and  the  Swiss  menaced  the  duchy 
of  Milan  ;  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  the  emperor 
began  to  bestir  himself,  to  declare  war  to  the  king, 
determined  them  to  take  the  road  to  the  duchy  of 
Milan. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

Letter  of  the  Knight  Bayard  to  Laurent  Alleman,  hU 
uncle,  on  the  battle  of  Bavenna. 

COMMEND   myself   with  all   humility  to 

your  good  favour. 

"  Since  I  last  wrote  to  you  we  have  had, 

as  you  have  doubtless  learnt,  a  battle  with 
our  enemies.  But,  to  make  you  acquainted  with  the 
whole  affair,  it  happened  in  this  way.  Our  army  came 
and  lodged  close  to  this  city  of  Ravenna ;  our  enemies 
were  there  as  soon  as  we,  in  order  to  give  heart  to  the 
said  town,  and  by  reason  of  some  rumours  which  were 
daily  current  of  the  descent  of  the  Swiss,  and  of  the 
want  of  provisions  in  our  camp.  Monsieur  de  Nemours 
resolved  to  give  battle,  and,  last  Sunday,  passed  a  little 
river,  which  was  between  our  said  enemies  and  ourselves. 
Thus  it  fell  out  that  we  engaged  them.  They  marched 
in  the  best  order,  and  were  more  than  1700  men-at-arms, 
the  proudest  and  most  triumphant  that  we  ever  saw,  and 
14,000  foot  soldiers,  as  gallant  men  as  could  be  met 
with.  So  about  1000  of  their  men-at-arms,  enraged  at 
our  artillery,  fell  upon  our  squadron  in  which  was  the 
Duke  of  Kemours  in  person ;  his  company,  that  of  the 


i8z  SPOTLESS   AND   FEARLESS. 

Duke  of  Lorraine,  of  Louis  d'Ars  and  others,  to  the 
number  of  400  men-at-arms  or  thereabouts,  who  received 
their  said  enemies  with  such  valour,  that  better  fighting 
was  never  seen.  Between  our  vanguard,  which  w^as 
composed  of  1000  men-at-arms  and  us,  there  were  great 
ditches,  and,  moreover,  it  had  work  to  do  elsewhere, 
and  could  not  help  us.  So  it  happened  that  the  said 
squadron  was  obliged  to  stand  the  brunt  of  the  said 
1000  men-at-arms  of  the  enemy.  Just  then  Monsieur 
de  Nemours  broke  his  lance,  and  pierced  one  of  their 
men-at-arms  through  his  body,  and  half  the  length  of 
an  arm  beyond.  So  the  said  1000  men-at-arms  were 
defeated  and  put  to  flight,  and  as  we  were  in  pursuit 
of  them,  we  met  their  foot-soldiers  near  their  artillery, 
with  500  or  600  men-at-arms,  who  were  there  hemmed 
in,  and  had  put  little  trucks  upon  two  wheels  before 
them,  upon  which  were  pieces  of  iron  of  the  length  of 
two  or  three  arms,  and  they  came  to  a  hand-to-hand 
fight  with  our  foot-soldiers.  Their  said  foot-soldiers 
had  so  many  arquebuses,  that  when  they  fought  close 
in  this  manner,  they  killed  all  our  captains,  so  to  speak, 
instead  of  staggering  them,  or  putting  them  to  flight. 
But  our  soldiers  were  so  well  seconded  by  the  men-at- 
arms  that,  after  fighting  well,  our  said  enemies  were 
defeated,  lost  their  artillery,  and  700  or  800  men-at- 
arms,  and  the  greater  number  of  their  captains,  with 
7000  or  8000  foot-soldiers.  It  is  not  known  whether 
any  captains  escaped,  but  the  viceroy,  for  we  have  taken 
prisoner  the  Lord  Fabricius  Colonna,  the  Cardinal  de 
Medicis,  the  Pope's  legate,  Pedro  Navarre,  the  Marquis 
of  Pescara,  the  Marquis  of  Padule,  the  son  of  the 
Prince  of  Malfi,  Don,  man  of  Cardona,  son  of  the  Mar- 
([uis  of  Belonde,  and  others  whose  names  I  do  not  know. 
Those  who  escaped  were  followed  for  eight  or  ten  miles, 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  183 

and  are  now  making  their  way  across  the  mountains, 
although  some  say  the  serfs  (peasants)  have  cut  them 
to  pieces. 

"  My  lord,  if  the  king  has  gained  the  battle,  I  swear 
to  you  that  the  poor  gentlemen  have  lost  it,  for  while 
we  gave  chase  the  Duke  de  Xemours  saw  some  of  our 
foot-soldiers  who  required  help.  He  rushed  to  their 
rescue,  but  the  gentle  prince  was  so  badly  accompanied 
that  he  was  killed.  Of  all  grief  and  mourning  that 
were  ever  known,  never  was  so  much  sorrow,  surely,  as 
has  been  and  is  now  being  shown  in  our  camp,  for  it 
almost  seems  as  if  we  had  lost  the  battle.  I  promise 
you,  my  lord,  it  is  the  most  pitiful  death  of  any  prince 
these  hundred  years ;  and,  if  he  had  lived  to  be  old,  he 
would  have  done  deeds  that  no  other  prince  ever  did 
before  him.  The  soldiers  well  may  say  they  have  lost 
their  father,  and  as  for  me,  my  lord,  I  cannot  be  cheer- 
ful, for  I  have  lost  so  much  that  I  cannot  give  you  an 
idea  of  it  in  writing.  On  other  parts  of  the  field  were 
killed  the  Lord  d'Alegre,  and  his  son,  Monseigneur  de 
Molard,  six  German  captains,  and  the  Captain  Jacob, 
their  colonel,  the  Captain  Maugiron,  the  Baron  of 
Grammont,  and  more  than  200  gentlemen  of  good  name 
and  merit,  not  reckoning  more  than  2000  of  our  foot- 
men. I  assure  you  that  the  kingdom  of  France  will 
not  recover  the  loss  it  has  sustained  in  100  years. 

"  Yesterday  morning  the  body  of  the  late  duke  was 
taken  to  Milan  with  all  possible  honours.  Two  hundred 
men-at-arms  accompanied  him,  and  carried  before  him 
eighteen  or  twenty  of  the  most  triumphant  banners 
gained  in  this  battle.  He  will  remain  at  Milan  till  the 
king  has  sent  word  if  he  will  have  him  conveyed  to 
France  or  not.  My  lord,  our  army  is  going  temporarily 
by  the  Romagna,  taking  all  the  towns  for  the  council 


i84  SPOTLESS    AND   FEARLESS. 

of  Pisa.  They  will  not  wait  for  us  to  implore  them  to 
give  themselves  up,  they  will  be  afraid  of  being  plun- 
dered as  Ravenna  has  been,  in  which  nothing  remains. 
And  we  shall  not  stir  from  that  quarter  till  the  king 
has  sent  word  what  he  wishes  his  army  to  do. 

"When  this  is  despatched,  I  think  we  shall  have 
abstinence  from  war.  The  Swiss  are  always  making  a 
noise  somewhere ;  but  when  they  know  of  this  defeat 
perhaps  they  will  put  a  little  water  in  their  wine.  As 
soon  as  things  are  a  little  settled  I  shall  come  and  see 
you.  Praying  God,  my  lord,  to  give  you  a  happy  and 
long  life.  Written  at  the  camp  of  Ravenna,  this  14th 
day  of  April. 

"  Your  very  humble  servant, 

"  Bayard." 


CHAPTER   XXI. 


gHEX  all  the  army  had  arrived  in  the  duchy 
of  Milan,  they  began  by  paying  the  last 
honours  to  the  Duke  of  Xemours.  His  obse- 
quies were  conducted  with  more  pomp  and 
ceremony  than  are  ordinarily  displayed  at  the  funerals 
of  kings.  More  than  10,000  men  in  mourning  attended 
the  corpse,  the  greater  number  on  horseback,  four  flags 
taken  from  the  enemy  preceded  his  coffin,  drooping  to 
the  earth.  Afterwards  came  his  ensigns,  and  his  stan- 
dard-bearer, and  he  was  placed  in  the  church  of  the 
Duomo,  which  is  the  Cathedral,  honoured  with  the  tears 
and  regrets  of  all  present.  The  captains  being  assembled 
after  the  ceremony  was  over,  the  command  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Lord  of  La  Palisse,  Jacques  de  Chabannes, 
as  the  oldest  man,  and  the  one  most  worthy  of  this 
honour,  because  the  Lord  of  Lautrec,  dangerously 
wounded,  had  been  taken  to  Ferrara,  where  the  duke 
and  duchess  gave  him  all  the  care  they  could,  and  had 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  him  recover  his  health. 

The  Pope  Julius  the  Second,  always  an  open  enemy 
to  France,  was  not  satisfied,  because  he  had  not  been 
able  to  make  the  emperor  declare  against  the  king.  He 
had  persuaded  him  to  order  his  lansquenets,  the  few 


i86  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

that  were  left  from  the  battle  of  Ravenna,  to  return. 
His  orders,  addressed  to  their  commander,  brother  of 
the  dead  Captain  Jacob,  were  so  precise,  that  he  con- 
sidered it  necessary  to  obey,  and  the  greater  number 
left  the  French  army,  where  only  700  or  800  remained, 
who  were  retained  by  a  young  captain,  who,  having 
nothing  to  lose  in  Germany,  attached  himself  to  the 
service  of  the  king. 

The  Cardinal  de  Medicis,  made  prisoner  at  the  battle 
of  Ravenna,  was  upon  the  point  of  being  sent  to  France, 
where  he  would  doubtless  have  been  kept  a  long  time, 
but  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  delivered  by  a  party 
of  the  Pope's  men,  commanded  by  Matthew  of  Beccarea, 
who  rendered  him  a  great  service,  for  if  it  had  not  been 
for  him,  he  would  never  have  borne  either  tiara,  or  the 
name  of  Leo  X. 

The  fear  that  the  French  had  for  the  Venetians  and 
Swiss  was  found  to  be  only  too  well  founded,  the  latter 
came  down  in  great  numbers  into  the  duchy  of  Milan, 
and  were  reinforced  by  the  Pope's  troops.  The  French 
army  was  too  fatigued  and  too  small  to  show  front  to 
them.  They  disputed  several  passages  with  them  pretty 
successfully,  but  at  last  they  were  obliged  to  yield  to 
numbers,  and  to  retire  to  Pavia,  where  they  hoped  to 
remain.  The  French  were  only  there  two  days  when, 
notwithstanding  the  diligence  they  had  displayed  in 
barricading  and  fortifying  the  gates,  the  Swiss  entered 
the  town  (it  has  never  been  discovered  by  what  means), 
and  gained  the  great  square,  where  the  alarm  was  soon 
spread.  The  Captain  Louis  d'Ars,  who  had  been  made 
governor,  went  immediately  to  the  place,  and  did  great 
things.  Chabannes  and  Humbercourt  followed  him, 
and  Bayard,  of  course,  who  surpassed  himself.  Amongst 
other  doings,  he  stopped  the  Swiss  with  about  thirty- 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  187 

six  of  his  company,  and  kept  tliem  figbtiiig  incessantly 
for  more  than  two  hours,  and  in  this  time  he  had  two 
horses  killed  under  him. 

It  was  by  his  advice  that  the  French,  on  entering  the 
town,  had  at  first  constructed  a  bridge  of  boats  (al- 
though there  was  a  stone  one  there),  so  that  they  might 
have  a  certain  way  of  retreat  in  case  of  need.  The 
event  clearly  showed  the  wisdom  of  this  precaution,  for 
as  soon  as  the  Swiss  had  commenced  their  attack,  they 
had  the  artillery  taken  off  to  be  carried  across  the 
bridge.  While  they  were  still  at  work,  Captain  Pierre- 
pont,  who  was  on  the  watch,  came  to  warn  the  French 
that  above  their  bridge  fresh  troops  were  arriving  to 
the  Swiss,  on  little  boats,  with  about  ten  men  on  each ; 
that  if  they  chose  to  make  one  troop,  they  could  seize 
the  bridge,  shut  them  in,  and  conquer  them  easily. 
On  this  warning,  every  one  took  the  road  to  the  bridge, 
where  there  were  many  blows  given,  and  much  blood 
shed  on  both  sides. 

However,  the  cavalry  passed,  and  they  left  300  lans- 
quenets to  guard  the  bridge.  But  this  was  one  of  those 
unfortunate  days  on  which  disgrace  seems  to  succeed 
disgrace  without  remorse.  As  the  last  piece  of  artillery 
(a  long  culverin  taken  at  Ravenna)  was  passing,  it  sunk 
the  first  boat,  and  so  cut  off  the  route  from  the  lans- 
quenets, who  took  to  flight,  and  saved  themselves  as 
they  best  could ;  some  were  slain,  others  thrown  into 
the  Ticino,  and  very  few  escaped.  When  the  French 
had  all  passed  they  broke  the  bridge,  and  thus  stopped 
their  pursuers.  But  the  day's  misfortunes  were  not 
yet  complete. 

Bayard,  who  had  remained  the  last,  according  to 
custom,  to  superintend  the  breaking  of  the  bridge, 
received  a  falcon-shot  fired  from  the  town,  which  struck 


1 88  SPOTLESS  AND   FEARLESS. 

his  shoulder  in  passing,  and  cut  off  the  flesh  to  the 
bone.  Those  who  saw  the  blow  thought  it  had  killed 
him ;  but  our  hero,  who  was  never  frightened  at  any- 
thing, was  not  disconcerted,  and  though  he  felt  extreme 
pain,  he  relieved  his  companions  by  telling  them  that 
his  wound  was  nothing,  as  though  it  had  in  reality  been 
a  very  small  matter. 

However,  the  blood  flowed  in  such  abundance,  that 
they  had  a  good  deal  of  trouble  to  staunch  it ;  but  as 
there  was  no  surgeon  there,  his  men  tore  up  their  shirts 
for  bandages.  Others  put  tree-moss  upon  the  wound. 
In  fine  they  did  all  they  could  to  put  him  in  a  fit  state 
to  follow  the  army,  which  retired  to  Alexandria,  where 
there  was  a  bridge,  which  had  been  made  under  the 
auspices  of  Theodore  Trivulce,  who  had  gone  on  before 
for  that  purpose.  The  army  did  not  remain  there  long; 
it  was  soon  obliged  to  leave  Lombardy  entirely,  ex- 
cepting the  citadels  of  Milan,  Cremona,  Lugano,  and 
Lucerne,  and  some  places  in  the  Valentine,  with  the 
town  and  castle  of  Brescia. 

This  army,  or  rather  this  remnant,  repassed  the  Alps, 
and  lodged  in  different  garrisons.  Bayard,  though  still 
suffering  from  his  wound,  followed  it,  and  went  to 
Grenoble,  to  the  bishop,  his  uncle,  who  had  never  seen 
him  since  he  left  him  in  the  hands  of  the  Duke  of 
Savoy  as  his  page. 

It  is  needless  to  tell  with  what  demonstrations  of  joy 
he  was  received,  and  the  good  bishop's  satisfaction  at 
the  warlike  renown  he  had  acquired  in  the  long  interval 
of  twenty-two  years  since  they  met. 

He  received  many  testimonies  of  esteem  and  admira- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  nobility.  Each  outvied  the  other 
in  giving  him  fetes ;  and  all,  even  the  ladies,  congratu- 
lated themselves  on  the  honour  his  presence  did  to  their 


LIFE   OF  BAYARD.  189 

province.  He  could  not  have  been  in  a  better  place 
for  the  recovery  of  his  health  ;  but  whether  on  account 
of  an  issue  from  his  last  wound,  or  from  the  great 
fatigues  he  had  borne  in  many  succeeding  campaigns, 
he  was  attacked  with  a  violent  fever  which  lasted 
seventeen  days,  and  brought  him  very  low  indeed. 
When  he  found  himself  in  this  state,  his  regret  was 
not  that  death  was  near,  but  that  he  must  die  in 
his  bed. 

"Oh,  heaven!"  he  cried,  "if  it  was  your  will  to  take 
me  to  yourself,  why  did  you  not  let  me  die  at  the  feet  of 
that  matchless  Duke  of  Xemours,  with  my  brave  com- 
panions !  Why  did  I  not  die  when  I  -was  so  grievously 
wounded  at  the  assault  of  Brescia !  I  should  have 
accepted  death  with  joy,  following  the  example  of  all 
my  ancestors  who  have  died  on  the  field  of  battle.  I 
have  been  so  many  times  exposed  there,  I  have  braved 
so  much,  and  on  so  many  perilous  occasions,  in  assaults 
or  skirmishes,  and  have  I  only  escaped  to  come  here 
and  die  in  a  bed  like  a  woman.  But,  God,  Thy  will  be 
done.  All  my  confidence  is  in  Thy  mercy,  I  am  a  great 
sinner,  but  I  hope  Thou  wilt  pardon  my  faults,  and  ac- 
cept the  sacrifice  of  my  life,  as  an  expiation  for  them."' 
His  regrets  and  sentiments  of  piety  were  so  touching, 
that  all  the  attendants  were  bathed  in  tears. 

While  he  was  in  this  state,  all  in  the  town,  both  great 
and  small,  nobles  and  common  people,  the  bishop  and 
the  clergy,  and  even  the  nuns,  prayed  incessantly  for 
Bayard's  preservation.  At  last  God  was  favourable  to 
their  prayers,  his  fever  decreased  by  degrees,  and  in 
eight  or  ten  days  left  him  entirely. 

His  recovery  was  slow,  but  with  time,  and  the  care 
they  took  of  him,  his  health  was  entirely  re-established, 
and  during  the  few  months  that  he  continued  at  Gre- 


190  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

noble,  he  gave  fetes  to  the  ladies,  and  was  feted  by  them 
in  return. 

During  this  interval,  there  happened  to  our  hero  a 
gallant  adventure  which  I  shall  relate  with  pleasure, 
because  Bayard  happily  escaped  therefrom,  and,  in  some 
measure,  imitated  the  continence  of  Scipio. 

His  valet-de-chambre,  having  one  day  discovered  a 
young  and  beautiful  girl,  whose  mother,  the  widow  of 
a  man  of  gentle  blood,  was  so  poor,  that  she  often  wanted 
bread  both  for  herself  and  child,  brought  this  girl, 
persuaded  more  by  force  than  will,  secretly  to  Bayard's 
cabinet,  where  they  awaited  his  return. 

When  he  arri-wed,  the  roguish  valet  told  him  that  he 
had  made  one  of  the  finest  discoveries  in  the  world,  and 
that  he  had  with  him,  for  his  amusement,  at  that  moment, 
a  young  lady,  who  was  not  only  beautiful,  but  noble. 

At  the  same  time  he  showed  her  to  Bayard,  who  be- 
held a  creature  beautiful  as  an  angel,  but  with  her  eyes 
inflamed  with  the  tears  that  she  had  shed,  and  still  con- 
tinued to  pour  forth. 

"  What  is  the  matter,  my  beautiful  child  ?"  said  the 
knight,  "  why  do  you  weep  so  bitterly  ?" 

*'  Alas,"  cried  she,  throwing  herself  at  his  knees,  "  I 
know  too  well  that  my  mother  has  delivered  me  to  your 
will ;  but  I  assure  you  that  I  am  a  virgin,  that  my 
honour  has  never  been  sullied,  and  I  would  rather  that 
I  were  dead  than  behold  myself  in  your  hands,  for  my 
mother  has  only  brought  me  here  through  her  own  and 
my  misery,  for  we  shall  die  with  hunger." 

Then  again  her  sobs  broke  forth  with  redoubled 
vigour,  and  Bayard,  moved  almost  to  tears,  seeing  so 
much  virtue  in  this  young  creature,  said  to  her :  "  In 
truth,  my  dear  young  lady,  I  am  very  far  from  seeking 
to  overthrow  those  noble  thoughts  which  I  find  in  vou. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  191 

I  have  always  respected  virtue,  more  so  when  it  is 
accompanied  by  birth.  Pray  recover  yourself,  and 
come  with  me,  and  I  will  place  you  in  a  house  where 
your  honour  shall  be  in  safety." 

So  saying,  he  took  a  torch  from  his  valet,  and  he 
himself  conducted  the  young  lady  to  the  house  of  a 
relative  who  lived  near. 

On  the  morning  of  the  next  day  he  sent  for  the 
mother,  whom  he  deeply  reproached  for  dishonouring 
herself  and  daughter  in  the  manner  I  have  related ; 
"  especially,"  said  he,  "  being  of  a  noble  race,  you  are 
still  more  criminal."  The  poor  woman,  thoroughly 
frightened,  assured  him  that  her  daughter  was  pure, 
and  that  want  and  misery  were  the  only  causes  of  her 
crime. 

"  But  tell  me,"  said  Bayard,  "  has  no  one  yet  asked 
her  in  marriage  of  you  ?" 

"  One  of  our  neighbours,"  she  replied,  "  an  honest 
and  well-to-do  man  spoke  to  me  about  her  a  short  time 
since,  but  he  wants  600  florins  with  her,  and  all  I  possess 
in  the  world  is  not  worth  half  the  money." 

"  And  would  he  marry  her,"  replied  Bayard,  "  if  she 
had  this  sum  ?" 

"  Yes,  my  lord,  certainly  he  would,"  answered  the 
widow. 

Then  the  knight  ordered  a  purse  to  be  brought  from 
which  he  took  300  crowns,  saying :  "  Here  are  200 
crowns,  which  are  worth  a  little  more  than  600  florins, 
to  marry  your  daughter,  and  100  crowns  to  buy  her 
dresses.  Moreover,  he  gave  her  100  crowns  more  for 
herself,  and  ordered  his  valet  to  watch  the  mother  and 
daughter,  and  to  give  him  an  account  of  them  till  the 
marriage  was  contracted,  which  took  place  three  days 
after.     The  generosity  of  Bayard  was  rewarded  by  the 


192  SPOTLESS    AND   FEARLESS. 

satisfaction  lie  felt  in  having  preserved  the  honour  of 
a  noble  and  virtuous  girl,  and  by  his  generosity  having 
made  a  woman  exemplary  and  respectable. 

After  he  had  passed  some  time  in  Dauphiny,  feted 
and  caressed  by  everybody,  the  king,  Louis  XII,  sent 
an  army  into  Guienne,  under  the  orders  of  the  Duke 
of  Longueville,  to  recover  the  kingdom  of  Navarre  from 
Ferdinand,  King  of  Arragon,  who  had  a  short  time  be- 
fore usurped  it  from  the  King  John  d'Albret,  to  whom 
it  belonged  in  right  of  his  wife  Catharine  de  Foix. 
This  enterprise  was  not  successful ;  the  army  having  been 
a  long  time  in  the  country  without  any  success,  a  part 
commanded  by  Chabannes  was  forced  to  recross  the 
Pyrenees,  with  the  King  of  Navarre.  A  little  while 
after  they  were  followed  by  Bayard,  leading  a  number 
of  heavy  pieces  of  artillery,  with  a  detachment  of  soldiers, 
who,  on  the  road,  took  some  little  fortresses,  and  finally 
came  to  lay  siege  to  Pampeluna. 

At  four  leagues  from  this  town  was  a  castle,  whose 
taking  became  interesting  in  detail,  not  because  it  was 
very  strong  in  itself,  but  because  it  could  contain  enough 
men  to  succour  the  town,  or  at  least  to  make  the  be- 
siegers uneasy.  The  King  of  Navarre  and  Chabannes 
begged  Bayard  to  accept  the  charge  of  making  himself 
master  of  it.  He  accepted  the  commission  in  the  spirit 
of  a  man  who  had  never  found  any  difficulty  in  any- 
thing. He  took  with  him  his  company,  who  were  as 
well  disposed  for  war  as  he  was,  and  composed  of  men, 
who  had  most  of  them,  as  we  have  already  said,  com- 
manded themselves.  He  there  joined  the  company  of 
Captain  Bonneval,  another  excellent  officer,  many  ad- 
venturers, and  about  800  lansquenets,  and  went  in  open 
day  straight  to  the  castle.  He  began  by  sending  a 
trumpet  to  summon  those  who  were  there  to  give  it 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  193 

back  to  the  King  of  Navarre,  to  whom  it  belonged, 
assuring  them  that  their  lives  and  baggage  should  be 
saved,  but  if  they  were  taken  by  assault,  no  quarter 
should  be  shown  to  anyone. 

Those  within  the  castle  were  all  good  soldiers,  100 
Spaniards,  very  loyal  to  their  king,  and  they  had  been 
put  there  by  the  Duke  of  Naxara  and  the  Alcalde  of 
Donzelles,  ^  both  of  whom  Ferdinand  had  appointed,  the 
one  viceroy,  the  other  lieutenant-general  in  the  king- 
dom of  Navarre.  Their  answer  was  that  they  would 
keep  the  place,  and  not  give  it  up,  still  less  would  they 
submit  personally.  As  soon  as  this  answer  had  been 
reported  to  Bayard,  he  had  a  battery  constructed, 
furnished  with  four  large  pieces  of  cannon,  and  beat  a 
breach  without  delay.  The  besieged,  on  their  side, 
had  a  good  number  of  arquebuses  with  two  falconets, 
and  answered  very  well  to  the  French  artillery ;  but 
notwithstanding  all  this,  in  less  than  an  hour,  the 
breach  was  large  enough,  although  difficult  of  access, 
because  it  was  necessary  to  get  up  to  it.  Then  Bayard 
sounded  to  the  assault,  and  commanded  the  lansquenets 
to  march  and  do  their  duty;  but  it  was  necessary,  before 
arranging  them,  to  come  to  terms  with  them;  they  told 
him,  through  their  interpreter,  that,  according  to  their 
treaty,  when  a  place  was  taken  by  assault  they  should 
receive  double  pay ;  that  if  this  demand  were  acceded 
to,  they  wouM  go  cheerfully  to  the  breach,  otherwise 
not.  Bayard  was  ignorant  of  this  treaty ;  however  he 
promised  them  that  if  they  took  this  place  by  assault 
their  demands  should  be  satisfied.  But  they  un- 
doubtedly expected  to  be  paid  in  advance,  for  not  one 


'  Don  Didago  Ferdinand,  of  Cardoue;  one  of  the  bravest  and 
best  officers  of  his  time. 

o 


194  SPOTLESS   AND   FEARLESS. 

moved  from  his  place.  The  adventurers  alone  marched 
boldly,  and  found  work  to  do,  for,  if  they  knew  how  to 
attack,  those  within  knew  equally  well  how  to  defend 
themselves. 

Bayard,  seeing  that  three  attacks  had  been  unsuc- 
cessful, had  had  retreat  sounded,  and  afterwards  caused 
cannons  to  be  fired,  apparently  to  enlarge  the  breach, 
but  really  to  throw  the  besieged  off  the  track,  for  there 
had  entered  his  mind  one  of  those  expedients  which  were 
never  wanting  to  him  when  occasion  required.  To  put  it 
in  execution,  he  addressed  himself  to  one  of  the  men-at- 
arms,  whose  bravery  and  good  conduct  he  knew,  named 
La  Vergne,  and  said  to  him  :  "  Companion,  will  you  do 
a  bold  deed,  for  which  I  will  richly  reward  you  ?  Do  you 
see  that  large  tower  which  forms  the  corner  of  the  rear 
of  the  castle  ?  I  want  you  to  take  with  you  thirty  or 
forty  brave  men,  and  whilst  I  give  the  assault,  and  occupy 
the  enemy  at  the  breach,  you  shall  lead  your  men, 
supplied  with  ladders,  to  enter  it  there.  I  am  sure  you 
will  find  no  one,  and  you  know  what  you  have  to  do." 

La  Vergne  was  a  man  skilled  in  the  art  of  war,  and  it 
was  not  necessary  to  say  any  more  to  him.  He  under- 
stood the  plan,  and  executed  it  to  perfection,  while 
B.'iyard  had  the  assault  given  with  more  impetuosity 
than  the  first  time.  The  besieged  Avere  all  at  the 
breach,  and  were  strangely  surprised  to  hear  behind 
them  the  cry  of  "  France!  France!  Navarre!  Navarre!" 
And  to  see  themselves  charged  from  the  back  by  La 
Vergne  and  his  fifty  men.  They  wished,  however,  to 
defend  themselves,  but  at  that  instant  the  besiegers 
entered  by  the  breach,  which  they  knocked  all  to  pieces 
or  very  nearly  so,  and  then  plundered  the  place.  Bay- 
ard left  a  small  garrison  there  under  the  charge  of  a 
gentleman  belonging  to  the  King  of  Navarre,  and  as 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  195 

he  was  preparing  to  set  out  to  rejoin  the  French  camp, 
the  lansquenets  who  had  refused  to  serve,  and  who  had 
done  nothing,  had  the  impudence  to  ask  him,  through 
their  interpreter,  for  the  double  pay  which  he  had  pro- 
mised them.  The  proposition  irritated  him.  "  Tell 
those  rascally  lansquenets,"  he  replied,  "  that  I  would 
sooner  give  each  a  halter  to  hang  himself  with.  The 
cowards  wouldn't  go  to  the  breach,  and  now  they 
ask  double  pay.  I  will  inform  the  Duke  of  Suffolk, 
their  commander,  of  it,  and  the  Lord  of  Chabannes, 
that  he  may  get  rid  of  them;  they  are  worth  nothing." 
Their  interpreter,  having  returned  them  this  answer, 
they  began  to  murmur  loudly,  like  men  just  ready  to 
revolt.  But  Bayard  sounded  to  the  standard,  and  as- 
sembled his  adventurers,  and  his  men-at-arms,  resolved 
to  exterminate  them  to  the  last  man,  if  they  made  the 
least  movement.  They  chose  the  better  part,  which  was 
to  be  quiet,  and  return  with  the  others  to  the  camp  at 
Pampeluna. 

This  adventure,  instead  of  ending  in  a  bloody  manner, 
as  it  might  have  done,  terminated  by  a  comic  scene 
with  which  the  reader  will  be  amused. 

When  Bayard  returned  from  this  expedition,  he 
was  received  by  the  King  of  Navarre,  Chabannes,  the 
Duke  of  Suffolk,  and  the  other  captains,  with  all  the 
expressions  of  satisfaction  that  his  skill  and  the  service 
he  had  just  rendered  merited.  He  related  to  them  the 
insolent  pretention  of  the  lansquenets,  and  told  them 
what  had  happened,  at  which  they  only  laughed.  In 
the  evening  he  gave  a  supper  to  the  Duke  of  Suffolk, 
and  to  many  other  officers  of  the  first  rank.  The  supper 
was  abundant  and  delicate,  and  all  were  merry,  when 
at  the  end  of  the  meal,  Pierrepont  came  to  tell  Bayard 
that  there  was  a  tipsy  lansquenet  who  was  looking  for 


196  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

him  to  kill  him.  The  knight  left  the  table,  laughing, 
took  his  sword  in  his  hand,  and  addressing  himself  to 
the  lansquenet :  "  Comrade,"  said  he,  "  are  you  the  man 
that  is  looking  for  Captain  Bajard,  to  kill  him  ?  I  am 
he ;  defend  yourself." 

The  tipsy  fellow  was  terribly  afraid,  and  replied,  trem- 
bling, and  jabbering  bad  French :  "  It  is  not  I  alone 
who  wish  to  kill  you,  but  all  the  lansquenets  together." 

"  Mercy,"  cried  Bayard,  "  all  the  lansquenets ! 
Quarter,  my  comrade,  I  don't  feel  capable  of  fighting 
6000  or  7000  men." 

All  the  company  laughed  at  the  adventure,  and  Bay- 
ard, for  their  amusement,  made  the  lansquenet  come 
in.  He  placed  him  at  table  opposite  himself,  and  sup- 
plied him  with  such  frequent  and  copious  bumpers,  that 
he  finished  by  leaving  him  as  tipsy  as  he  found  him,  and 
then  sent  him  away.  The  lansquenet,  well  satisfied, 
swore  to  Bayard  that  he  would  be  his  friend  for  life,  that 
he  was  a  worthy  man,  that  his  wine  was  good,  and  that 
he  would  defend  him  against  all  the  lansquenets  in  the 
world.  This  scene  lasted  a  considerable  time,  and 
diverted  all  the  company,  who  laughed  till  they  cried 
at  the  conversation  that  the  wine  caused  this  man  to 
indulge  in,  and  which  his  bad  French  made  still  more 
amusing. 

But  to  return  to  the  siege  of  Pampeluna.  The  day 
after  the  re-entrance  of  Bayard  into  the  camp,  the 
place  was  breached,  and  they  tried  to  give  the  assault 
there,  but  the  alcalde  of  Los  Donzelles,  who  was  shut 
up  there,  defended  it  so  well,  that  the  French  were 
obliged  to  suspend  the  assault,  after  having  lost  many 
men  there.  The  result  of  this  campaign  was  very  un- 
fortunate. The  army,  on  entering  Navarre,  had  made 
there  a  general  waste  of  all  the  good  things  of  the  earth ; 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  197 

the  corn  magazines  had  been  blown  up,  and  the  mill- 
stones broken ;  they  soon  had  reason  to  repent  of  this, 
for  everything  was  wanting  at  once,  and  the  famine 
became  so  great,  that  many  soldiers  died  of  it ;  added 
to  that,  the  troops  were  barefooted,  and  ragged,  so  that 
they  were  full  of  misfortunes. 

In  this  sad  plight,  and  to  finish  their  disgrace,  they 
learnt  that  the  Duke  of  Naxara  was  advancing  with  a 
body  of  from  8000  to  10,000  men,  and  that  he  was 
already  at  the  Pont-de-la-Eeine.  All  these  circum- 
stances caused  Chabannes,  and  all  the  officers,  to  advise 
the  King  of  Xavarre  to  put  off  the  expedition  to 
another  time,  in  consequence  of  which  the  siege  was 
removed  in  broad  daylight,  and  the  artillery  taken  away; 
but  it  did  not  go  far,  for  they  had  hardly  gone  two  or 
three  days'  journey  with  it,  with  almost  incredible 
trouble  and  expense,  by  a  hilly  road,  when  they  had  to 
leave  it,  and  shatter  it  to  pieces,  so  that  the  enemy 
should  not  profit  by  it.  Added  to  this,  they  were 
continually  harassed  in  their  retreat,  and  had  bloody 
skirmishes  to  withstand. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

jHE  Duke  of  Suffolk  was  in  this  army,  and 
had  formed  a  very  close  friendship  with  our 
hero. 
One  day  after  a  vigorous  skirmish,  which 
lasted  till  the  evening,  he  retired ;  overcome  with  lassi- 
tude, hunger,  and  thirst,  he  came  to  beg  some  supper 
of  Bayard,  "  For,"  he  said,  "  I  have  not  broken  my  fast, 
and  my  men  have  told  me  that  there  is  nothing  to  eat  at 
my  house." 

"  Very  willingly,"  replied  Bayard,  "  I  will  entertain 
you  well." 

Then  calling  his  butler,  he  ordered  him  to  hasten  the 
supper,  and,  added  he,  "  Let  us  be  served  as  well  as  if  we 
were  in  Paris."  Suffolk  laughed  with  all  his  heart  at 
this  joke,  knowing  that  no  one  in  the  army  had  had  any- 
thing but  millet  bread  for  two  days  ;  but  he  was  agree- 
ably surprised  at  being  regaled  as  if  he  had  indeed  been 
in  Paris. 

The  French  retired,  with  the  enemy  in  pursuit,  which 
disturbed  them  much.  However,  the  retreat  was  not  so 
unfortunate  as  it  might  have  been.  Bayard  especially 
acquired  much  honour,  being  always  in  the  rear-guard, 
and  turning  and  facing  the  enemy,  whom  he  often  made 
repent  of  their  rashness.      In  fine,  the  army  reached 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  199 

Bayonne,  where  it  found  plenty  to  make  up  for  the 
previous  famine ;  but  this  abundance  even  was  a  mis- 
fortune, for  many  soldiers  died  from  over-eating. 

This  year,  1512,  closed  with  three  events.  Firstly, 
the  Venetians  returned  to  favour,  and  made  peace 
with  the  king.  Secondly,  the  pope,  Julius  II.,  the  ir- 
reconcilable enemy  of  the  king  and  the  French  nation, 
died.  He  had  always  either  been  fighting  against 
them,  or  quarrelling  with  them,  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
course  of  this  history,  and  he  carried  his  hatred  and  ill- 
will  to  the  grave.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Cardinal  de 
Medicis,  the  same  who  was  made  prisoner  at  the  battle 
of  Ravenna,  who  took  the  title  of  Leo  X.  He  was  a 
very  wise  man,  protector,  or  rather  restorer  of  the 
sciences,  very  ambitious,  and  a  great  politician.  The 
third  event  was,  that  the  English  made  a  descent  upon 
Brittany,  in  which  they  were  not  successful.  One  day 
one  of  their  largest  vessels  fought  against  one  of  the 
ships  of  Queen  Anne,  Duchess  of  Brittany.  The  Eng- 
lish ship,  named  the  Regent,  carried  the  most  brilliant 
nobility  of  the  kingdom,  and  in  large  numbers.  It  ran 
against  the  queen's  ship,  named  the  Franciscan  nun,  but 
as  during  the  combat  they  threw  fire  into  each  other, 
they  were  both  burnt,  and  not  one  on  board  escaped. 

The  year  1513  began  by  an  expedition  into  Italy, 
whence  the  French  were  again  obliged  to  retire  with 
great  loss.  The  army,  commanded  by  the  illustrious 
Louis  de  la  Trimouille,  lost  a  battle  against  the  Swiss 
near  Novarra,  in  which  many  were  killed  on  both  sides. 
Two  sons  of  the  Lord  of  La  Marck  were  left  there  for 
dead.  Their  father,  in  despair  at  this  misfortune,  went 
there  with  his  company  of  100  men-at-arms,  to  see  them 
again,  or  perish  with  them.  He  made  such  a  furious 
charge  that  he  drove  back  the  conquerors  to  a  ditch. 


200  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

where  his  two  sons  lay  amongst  the  dead.  He  put  one 
across  his  horse  before  him,  and  a  servant  took  the  other 
in  the  same  manner,  and  thus  they  took  them  to  the 
camp,  pierced  through  and  through  with  wounds.  How- 
ever, they  recovered  in  tniie.  The  elder  was  afterwards 
the  Marshal  of  Fleurange,  and  the  other  the  Lord  of 
Jametry,  and  both  became  very  illustrious  men.^ 

After  this  said  expedition  into  Italy,  and  when  the 
army  was  in  France  after  its  return,  the  king  was  not 
long  idle.  Henry  YHI.,  king  of  England,  at  the  in- 
stigation of  the  pope,  and  of  Ferdinand,  king  of  Arragon, 
and  through  information  received  from  the  Emperor 
Maximilian  I.,  made  a  raid  in  Picardy,  near  Calais,  with 
powerful  forces.  Louis  sent  proportionate  forces  against 
him,  under  the  orders  of  Louis  of  Hawin,  Lord  of 
Fiennes,  governor  of  the  province,  and  with  him  Bayard 
and  a  number  of  other  good  captains. 

The  English  had  no  sooner  disembarked  than  they 
went  straight  to  lay  siege  to  Terouana,  which  was  a 
good  place,  and  well  fortified.  It  was  defended  by  two 
brave   men,   the    seneschal    of  Kouergue,  Francis    of 

'  History  has  a  singular  story  of  the  battle  of  Xovarra.  The 
evening  before  it  was  given  all  the  do2;s  in  the  French  army, 
after  howling  for  a  considerable  time,  suddenly  crossed  in  a 
pack  to  the  Swiss  camp,  as  if  they  had  known  that  they  were 
soon  to  change  masters.  This  is  not  the  only  historical  case 
we  have  of  such  conduct  on  the  part  of  dogs.  It  is  related  in 
English  history  that  Richard  II.  had  a  beautiful  greyhound  who 
had  never  caressed  any  but  him.  This  prince,  having  been 
defeated  and  made  prisoner  by  the  Duke  of  Lancaster,  who  dis- 
puted his  right  to  the  crown,  the  hound  crossed  over  to  him,  and 
overwhelmed  him  with  caresses.  The  duke  was  much  sui-prised, 
and  asked  Richard  what  it  meant.  Richard  replied,  "  It  is  a 
good  omen  for  you.  This  dog  knows  no  other  master  but  the 
king  of  England.     I  was  king  yesterda\',  you  are  king  to-day." 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  zoi 

Teligny,  and  Antony  of  Crequi,  Lord  of  Pontdomi. 
They  had  under  their  command  their  companies  of 
men-at-arms,  a  good  number  of  adventurers,  and  a 
body  of  lansquenets,  commanded  by  their  captain 
Brandec.  There  were  enough  to  defend  the  place  well, 
if  they  had  had  sufEcient  provisions  and  munition  ;  but, 
says  a  contemporary  historian,  those  were  nearly  always 
the  causes  that  prevented  success. 

The  English  army  was  commanded  by  the  Duke  of 
Suffolk  (Charles  Brandon)  and  the  Captain  Talbot. 
Whilst  they  cannonaded  the  place,  the  king  of  England 
disembarked,  and  he  was  nearly  tal^en  prisoner  on  the 
road  from  Calais  to  Terouana.  He  had  with  him  nearly 
12,000  foot-soldiers,  amongst  whom  were  4000  lans- 
quenets, but  not  a  single  horse-soldier.  He  was  met  by 
Bayard,  who  commanded  a  detachment  of  1200  men-at- 
arms,  and  not  a  single  foot-soldier.  The  English  prince, 
alarmed  at  this,  dismounted,  and  made  his  lansquenets 
surround  him.  Bayard  absolutely  wished  to  attack 
them  with  his  1200  men-at-arms,  and  said  to  the  Lord 
of  Fiennes,  "  Let  us  charge  them.  If  we  break  them, 
we  shall  have  their  king ;  if  they  drive  us  back,  our 
horses  will  carry  us  off  without  much  loss." 

Fiennes  answered  him,  "  Do  so  if  you  wish,  but  not 
with  my  consent.  I  have  orders  from  the  king  to  guard 
my  country  alone,  and  to  risk  nothing."  So  no  attack 
was  made,  and  Bayard  and  his  men  had  the  vexation  of 
seeing  the  king  of  England  and  his  escort  pass.  But  at 
last  our  hero  could  contain  himself  no  longer.  He  fell 
upon  the  rear  of  the  troop,  and  soon  put  them  to  the 
double-quick,  so  that  in  their  hurry  they  left  a  large 
piece  of  cannon,  Avhich  they  called  St.  John,  being  one  of 
twelve  similar  pieces,  each  bearing  the  name  of  an  apostle, 
and  for  that  reason  called  by  Henry  his  Twelve  Apostles. 


20a  SFOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

This  king,  a  few  days  after  his  arrival  at  his  camp, 
was  there  joined  by  the  emperor,  who  brought  him  some 
troops  from  Hainault  and  Burgundy,  and  this  arrival 
was  celebrated  by  cannonades  against  the  town.  The 
King  of  France  had  come  as  far  as  Amiens,  and  sent 
word  every  day  to  his  general  to  victual  Terouana  at 
any  price,  which  was  very  difficult  to  do,  because  of  the 
number  of  troops  who  invested  it.  However,  to  obey 
the  king,  they  determined  to  do  it.  It  was  resolved 
that  all  the  cavalry  should  go  and  give  an  alarm  to  the 
enemy's  camp,  and  that  by  this  diversion  they  would 
make  it  easier  for  those  who  were  ordered  to  go  to  the 
other  end  of  the  town  to  throw  pieces  of  bacon  into  the 
ditch,  for  the  besieged  to  pick  up.  They  tried  to  carry 
this  plan  into  execution,  but  the  enemies,  informed  by 
their  spies,  placed  12,000  English  foot-soldiers,  4000  or 
5000  lansquenets,  and  ten  pieces  of  cannon  in  a  favour- 
able part,  so  that  as  soon  as  the  French  cavalry  had 
passed  to  give  the  alarm,  this  body  of  troops  sallied  out 
and  cut  off  their  road ;  and  at  the  place  where  he  fore- 
saw that  the  attack  would  be  made,  he  had  put  all  his 
cavalry  in  arms,  with  the  Burgundians  and  Hainaulters. 

On  the  French  side  they  had  received  orders  not  to 
fight,  but  only  to  occupy  the  enemy,  to  second  the 
transport  of  provisions  into  the  town,  and  if  the  enemy 
showed  themselves  strong,  to  retire  with  all  speed. 

The  order  was  pretty  well  executed,  but  did  not  suc- 
ceed ;  for  the  French,  having  commenced  the  skirmish 
with  spirit,  and  soon  perceiving  a  body  of  troops 
coming  to  enclose  them,  sounded  retreat,  and  every 
one  galloped  off  to  the  camp.  The  first  fell  upon 
the  companies  that  Chabannes  and  the  Duke  of  Lon- 
gueville  commanded,  and  threw  them  all  in  disorder. 
The  pursuers  seeing  this  first   small  defeat,  stuck  to 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  203 

their  point,  and  made  the  whole  army  turn  their  backs. 
Chabannes  was  energetic  in  trying  to  rally  them,  but  in 
vain.  "  Turn,  men-at-arms  !"  he  cried.  "  It  is  only  a 
false  alarm."  They  did  not  listen  to  him  ;  on  the  con- 
trary, they  fled  at  full  speed  towards  the  camp  where 
were  the  foot-soldiers  and  the  artillery.  This  adventure 
gave  to  the  day's  exploits  the  name  of  the  Battle  of 
Spurs.^  The  Duke  of  Longueville  and  Chabannes  were 
made  prisoners  with  some  captains ;  but  Chabannes 
escaped  from  the  hands  of  those  who  took  him. 

Bayard,  obliged  to  retire  like  the  others,  and  to  his 
great  regret,  often  faced  about  upon  the  enemy  with 
about  fifteen  men-at-arms  of  his  company,  and  repulsed 
them.  He  found  a  little  bridge  over  a  very  deep  cur- 
rent of  water  which  crossed  the  plain.  Xow  this  bridge 
was  so  narrow  that  only  two  men  abreast  could  cross  it. 
"  My  friends,"  he  cried,  "  let  us  stop  here,  and  take  care 
of  this  bridge.  I  promise  you  that  the  enemy  shall  not 
wrest  it  from  us  in  an  hour."  He  then  sent  a  man  of 
his  troop  to  Chabannes,  to  tell  him  where  he  was,  and 
to  say  that  he  would  stop  the  enemy  until  Chabannes 
should  send  him  help,  and  that,  seeing  the  disorder  in 
which  the  English  were,  it  would  be  easy  to  defeat 
them.  The  Burgundians  and  Hainaulters  were  soon 
there,  and,  surprised  at  seeing  themselves  stopped 
by  so  few  men,  they  charged  them  with  all  their  forces. 
Bayard  showed  his  customary  bravery,  and  would  have 
given  the  French  time  to  rally  and  come  to  him,  when 

2  M.  de  Voltaire,  in  his  general  History,  calls  the  Battle  of 
Spurs  a  complete  defeat.  All  the  contemporary  historians  saj 
that  the  retreat  of  the  French  was  an  ordered  retreat;  that 
there  was  none  or  very  little  blood  shed,  and,  looking  at  it  in 
the  light  of  a  flight,  we  must  agree  that  it  was  not  only  volun- 
tary, but  very  wise. 


204  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

he  perceived  a  troop  of  200  horses,  which  gained  the 
lower  part  of  the  current  and  crossed  it  near  a  mill. 
Seeing  himself  shut  in  in  front  and  in  the  rear  without 
any  means  of  escape,  he  said  to  his  comrades  : — 

"  Let  us  give  ourselves  up.  These  forces  are  too 
strong,  and  we  are  too  few.  They  are  at  least  in  the 
proportion  of  ten  to  one,  and  all  our  prowess  will  be  of 
no  use  to  us,  for  our  horses  are  overcome  with  fatigue, 
and  our  men  too  far  off  to  help  us,  and  if  these  English 
archers  reach  us  they  will  cut  us  to  pieces." 

His  advice  was  followed,  and  every  one  gave  himself 
up  to  the  nearest  of  the  enemy's  troops.  Bayard,  whose 
presence  of  mind  never  left  him,  perceived  a  well- 
equipped  officer  who  had  retired  under  the  trees  to  rest 
and  refresh  himself;  he  was  unarmed,  and  his  sword 
was  beside  him.  Our  knight  ran  to  him,  and  snatching 
up  his  sword  and  putting  it  to  his  throat,  said  to  him  : — 

"  Give  yourself  up,  man-at-arms,  or  you  die!" 

The  knight,  much  astonished  at  being  taken  by  sur 
prise  in  this  manner,  did  not  wish  to  die  there.  He 
gave  himself  up  saying  : — 

"  As  I  am  without  defence,  I  render  my  sword  and 
my  person  to  you  ;  but  tell  me  to  whom  I  have  given 
myself  up." 

"  To  Captain  Bayard,"  replied  the  knight,  "  who  is 
himself  your  prisoner,  and  there  is  my  sword." 

The  gentleman  understood  nothing  of  the  adventure 
yet,  but  Bayard  informed  him  of  it  all,  and  made  his 
condition  that  if  it  happened  that  the  English  wished  to 
kill  him,  he  should  give  up  his  arms  to  him.  The  officer 
agreed  to  this,  and  kept  his  word,  for  they  had  to  defend 
themselves  against  some  scouts  who  amused  themselves 
by  killing  the  prisoners,  when  they  found  nothing  more 
to  plunder. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  205 

At  last  they  arrived  at  the  camp  of  the  King  of  Eng- 
land, -where  the  officer  lodged  his  prisoner  in  his  tent, 
and  treated  him  as  a  man  who  honoured  valour  even  in 
his  enemy.  That  lasted  four  or  five  days,  at  the  end  ot 
which  Bayard  said  to  him  one  morning  with  a  very 
serious  air  : — 

"  My  worthy  gentleman,  I  am  beginning  to  tire  of 
being  here  doing  nothing ;  you  will  oblige  me  much  if 
you  will  have  me  taken  to  the  camp  of  the  king,  my 
master." 

"  What,"  said  the  Burgundian,  "  eh  ?  You  have  said 
nothing  about  your  ransom  yet." 

"  Nor  you  of  yours,"  replied  Bayard.  "  Are  you  not 
my  prisoner  ?  Did  I  not  have  it  in  my  power  to  slay 
you  ?  and  if  I  gave  myself  up  to  you,  was  it  for  any 
other  reason  than  to  save  my  life  ?  I  have  your  word, 
and  you  will  keep  it ;  if  not,  sooner  or  later,  I  shall  fight 
you." 

The  gentleman,  more  astonished  than  before,  did  not 
know  what  answer  to  make  to  him ;  he  knew  his  name 
too  well  to  wish  to  fight  him.     However,  he  said : — 

"  Sir  captain,  I  will  abide  by  the  judgment  of  those 
to  whom  we  report  our  case." 

The  emperor,  having  heard  that  Bayard  was  in  the 
camp,  and  seeing  the  joy  that  his  capture  caused  every- 
body, almost  as  great  as  the  gain  of  a  battle,  sent  for 
him,  and  received  him  with  extraordinary  kindness. 

"  Captain  Bayard,  my  friend,"  said  he,  "  the  sight  of 
you  gives  me  great  joy.  Would  to  God  that  I  had 
many  such  men  as  you !  It  seems  to  me  that  if  such 
were  the  case,  I  should  not  be  long  in  requiting  the 
king  your  master  for  the  good  turns  he  has  done  me  in 
times  past.  But,"  added  he,  ''  it  appears  to  me  that 
when  we  were  in  battle  together  I  had  heard  it  said  that 
Bavard  never  fled." 


2o6  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS, 

"  Sire,"  replied  the  knight,  "  if  I  had  fled,  I  should 
now  not  be  here." 

Then  he  reminded  the  emperor  on  what  occasions  he 
bad  been  in  battle  with  him.  Just  then  the  King  of 
England  arrived,  and  he  also  received  Bajard  in  a  most 
gracious  manner.  Afterwards  he  joked  with  him  upon 
the  precipitate  retreat  of  the  French,  and  said  that  he 
had  never  seen  such  a  good  run.  The  emperor  was 
also  rather  witty  in  his  remarks ;  but  Bayard  inter- 
rupted them  by  saying  that  the  French  men-at-arms 
were  not  to  blame,  because  they  had  had  express  orders 
not  to  fight. 

"  They  had,"  added  he,  "  neither  foot-soldiers  nor 
artillery,  and  it  was  doubtful  whether  your  majesties 
would  not  bring  all  your  forces,  which  indeed  happened; 
and  they  know  that  the  French  nobility  enjoy  a  settled 
reputation ;  not  that  I  place  myself  among  their  num- 
ber, though." 

"  You !  "  replied  the  King  of  England.  "  I  think 
that  if  all  the  French  gentlemen  were  your  equals,  the 
siege  that  I  have  put  before  Terouana  would  soon  be 
raised.     But  you  are  our  prisoner." 

"  Saving  the  respect  I  owe  to  your  majesties,"  said 
Bayard,  "  I  cannot  allow  that  I  am  a  prisoner,  and  I  beg 
you  to  be  judges  in  the  case." 

And  then,  in  presence  of  the  gentleman,  he  re- 
lated the  transaction  as  it  had  occurred,  and  the  oflSlcer 
could  not  deny  any  of  the  statement.  The  two  princes 
appeared  to  consult  each  other  by  their  looks,  and  the 
emperor  declared  that  Bayard  was  not  a  prisoner,  and 
that  the  Burgundian  was  rather  his ;  but  that,  consi- 
dering all  things,  they  should  be  quits,  and  the  knight 
should  have  the  liberty  of  returning  to  his  camp  when 
the  King  of  England  should  allow  .him.  That  prince  was 
ready  to  ratify  the  emperor's  judgment,  and  said  that 


LIFE    OF    BAYARD.  207 

if  Bayard  remained  six  weeks  on  parole  without  bearing 
arms  he  would  allow  him  to  visit  all  the  towns  of  Flan- 
ders, and  afterwards  give  him  leave  to  depart.  The 
knight,  with  one  knee  on  the  ground,  thanked  the  two 
princes  for  their  decision,  and  a  few  days  after  left 
them  to  avail  himself  of  their  permission  to  visit  the 
country. 

The  King  of  England  secretly  proposed  to  him  to  enter 
into  his  service,  assuring  him  that  he  would  load  him 
with  riches  and  honours.  Pope  Julius  had  proposed 
the  same  thing  to  him  at  the  end  of  1503,  after  the  exploit 
at  the  Garilliano,  promising  also  to  make  him  Captain- 
general  of  the  Church ;  but  he  had  only  one  answer  to 
give  to  both,  namely,  "  that  he  had  only  one  master  in 
heaven,  who  was  God,  and  one  upon  earth,  who  was  the 
King  of  France,  and  that  he  would  never  serve  any 
other." 

We  have  already  said  that  although  Bayard  was  not 
rich,  yet  there  was  no  man  who  kept  a  better  table  than 
he  wherever  he  went.  As  soon  as  he  arrived  in  Flan- 
ders, he  gave  fetes  to  the  ladies,  and  regaled  the  empe- 
ror's subjects  so  well  and  so  often,  and  especially  gave 
them  such  good  wine,  although  it  was  dear,  that  he  sent 
them  away  quite  satisfied,  and  they  wanted  nothing  but 
their  beds  when  they  left  his  house.  They  would  very 
much  have  liked  this  style  of  life  to  last  longer,  but  as 
soon  as  the  term  had  expired  Bayard  took  leave  of 
them,  and  was  taken  in  safety  to  within  a  short  distance 
of  the  French  camp. 

The  town  of  Terouana  was  continuously  cannonaded, 
and  neither  being  supplied  with  men  or  provisions  it 
was  finally  reduced  to  capitulation.  The  articles  were 
that  all  the  soldiers  should  leave  with  bag  and  bag- 
gage, that  no  wrong  should  be  done  to  the  inhabit- 
ants, and  that  the  town  should  not  be  destroved.     The 


2o8  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

first  article  was  strictly  observed,  but  the  others  were 
not ;  for  the  King  of  England,  after  having  battered 
down  the  walls,  set  fire  to  the  town  in  various  places. 
The  ruin  of  this  town  was  completed  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  II.,  and  in  1553  by  Charles  V.,  and  now  scarcely 
a  vestige  of  it  remains. 

The  taking  of  the  town  of  Tournay  followed  that  of 
Terouana.  It  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English  by  the 
fault  of  the  garrison,  which  refused  to  receive  a  rein- 
forcement of  French  troops,  thinking  itself  strong 
enough  without  assistance  for  the  defence.  The  winter 
separated  the  armies ;  the  King  of  England  and  the 
emperor  returned  to  their  states,  and  the  French  were 
scattered  in  various  garrisons  in  Picardy  and  the  neigh- 
bouring provinces. 

In  the  course  of  this  same  year,  1513,  the  Swiss,  led 
by  the  Lord  of  Yerzi,  and  accompanied  by  a  body  of 
lansquenets,  to  the  number  of  30,000  men,  made  a 
descent  upon  Burgundy,  where  was  the  governor  of  the 
province,  the  brave  Louis  de  la  Trimouille,  who,  having 
no  troops  to  oppose  them,  was  obliged  to  shut  himself 
up  in  Dijon,  where  he  hoped  to  stop  this  large  army, 
but  the  town  was  soon  cannonaded  with  fury  and  be- 
sieged on  both  sides.  The  governor  did  his  duty  nobly, 
being  day  and  night  upon  the  ramparts  ;  but  at  last  the 
breaches  were  made,  and  seeing  himself  surrounded  by 
a  very  few  men,  and  without  hope  of  help,  he  saw  not 
only  that  his  town  was  lost  if  he  persisted  in  defending 
it,  but  the  danger  which  all  the  kingdom  would  be  in  at 
the  loss  of  the  place,  as  there  was  no  other  place  of  de- 
fence between  Dijon  and  Paris.  Seeing  that  there  was 
no  other  course  to  pursue,  he  had  the  wisdom  to  treat 
secretly  with  the  Swiss. 

He  reminded  them  of  the  advantages  that  they  had 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  ^09 

already  received  from  the  Kings  of  France,  and  the 
great  benefit  that  they  would  always  find  in  an  alliance 
with  this  crown  ;  he  made  them  fair  promises,  and  took 
upon  himself  the  task  of  negotiating  the  alliance  between 
themselves  and  the  king ;  he  made  them  plainly  see 
that  they  had  everything  to  lose  and  nothing  to  gain  by 
desolating  the  kingdom ;  in  short,  he  treated  so  well 
and  so  ably,  after  having  agreed  to  give  them  a  large  sum 
of  money,"^  that  they  returned,  taking  with  them  La 
Trimouille's  hostages,  the  Lord  of  Mairieres,  his  nephew, 
the  young  Rochfort,  son  of  Guy  of  Rochfort,  Chancellor 
of  France,  and  some  notables  of  the  town. 

This  treaty  of  the  Lord  of  La  Trimouille  was  not  ap- 
proved by  everybody  at  the  court,  where  jealousy  often 
distorts  the  finest  actions ;  but  the  blame  was  not  slow 
to  be  changed  into  praise,  and  then,  and  sinoe,  all  the 
historians  have  reported  this  action  as  one  of  the 
greatest  services  which  could  have  been  rendered  to  any 
of  our  kings. 

Louis  Xn,  during  his  stay  at  Amiens  had  the  annoy- 
ance of  learning  of  the  defeat  and  death  of  his  relative 
and  ally  James  IV.,  King  of  Scotland,  who,  trying  to 
enter  England  with  a  large  army,  was  conquered  in 
battle^  by  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  and  left  dead  on  the 
field. 

"Winter  quarters  having  been  taken,  the  king  went  to 
Blois,  to  which  place  he  was  attached,  as  it  was  his  birth- 
place.   Here  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  rest  from  the  fatigues 


'  Puffendorff  says  10,000  crowns,  which  would  be  worth  more 
than  a  million  of  our  present  money. 

*  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  this  battle  was  the 
well-known  Floddeu,  that  Scott  has  popularized  by  "  Marmion." 
p 


aio  SPOTLESS   AND   FEARLESS, 

and  annoyances  that  he  had  undergone  during  the  whole 
year  ;  but  it  was  not  to  be. 

The  court  was  hardly  established  at  Blois,  when  the 
Queen  of  France,  Anne,  Duchess  of  Brittany,  was 
seized  with  a  disease  which  was  at  once  declared  to  be 
mortal,  so  that  all  the  skill  of  the  doctors  could  not 
prevent  her  death,  which  happened  eight  days  after,  at 
the  commencement  of  January,^  1513,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-eight  years. 

She  left  two  daughters,  Madame  Claude,  who,  a  short 
time  after,  married  Francis,  Count  of  Angouleme,  who, 
in  the  end,  succeeded  to  the  crown,  and  Madame  Renee, 
wife  of  Hercules  TI,  Duke  of  Ferrara.^ 

In  the  month  of  October  following  (1514)  the  king 
married  again.  His  bride  was  Mary,  sister  to  the  King 
of  England.  It  was  the  Duke  of  Longueville,  made 
prisoner  at  Terouana,  and  taken  to  England,  who 
negotiated  this  alliance,  for  the  consummation  of  which 
the  king  did  not  appear  in  a  hurry.  But  he  wished 
for  peace.  His  finances  were  exhausted,  his  troops 
diminished,  and  he  feared,  above  all  things,  to  oppress 
his  people  by  taxation. 

The  princess  was  taken  to  Abbeville,  and  thence  to 
Paris,  where  she  was  received  with  astonishing  magni- 


*  The  month  of  January  was  then  the  tenth  month  in  the 
year.  The  year  began  at  Easter,  whatever  date  it  fell  upon ; 
the  year  began  to  be  dated  from  the  1st  of  January,  in  1564,  by 
order  of  Charles  IX. 

s  She  embraced  the  doctrines  of  Calvin,  who  went  to  Ferrara 
for  the  express  purpose  of  bringing  about  her  conversion.  This 
change  in  her  religion  not  allowing  her  to  remain  in  Italy,  she 
returned  to  France  in  the  following  reign.  Francis  I.  gave  her 
the  Duchy  of  Montargis  for  appanage.  She  died  there  in  1568, 
without  being  reconciled  to  the  Church  of  Rome. 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  211 

ficenceJ  The  king  had  the  kindness  to  change  his  mode 
of  life  in  favour  of  his  young  wife;  he  enjoyed  pleasures, 
and  attended  fetes  with  her,  and  often  carried  them  far 
into  the  night,  so  that  instead  of  getting  up,  and  going 
1»  bed  early,  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  do,  he  gave 
himself  up  to  a  mode  of  life  which  shortened  his  days. 
He  died  after  a  year  of  widowhood,  and  three  months 
of  his  second  marriage,  on  the  1st  of  January,  1514. 
He  was  a  good  prince,  and  much  lamented  by  his  people, 
who  embalmed  his  memory  for  ever  by  bestowing  on 
him  the  surname  of  Father  of  the  People.  By  the  death 
of  Louis  the  crown  passed  by  right  to  the  Count  of 
Angouleme,^  who  was  twenty  years  old,  and  a  son-in- 
law  of  Louis.  He  was  conducted  to  Rheims,  and  con- 
secrated with  a  pomp  of  which  there  is  no  previous 
example.  The  fetes  began  again  on  his  entrance  into 
Paris,  where  he  remained  till  Easter,  and  during  this 
interval  he  made  his  treaty  of  peace,  through  the  me- 
diation of  Charles,  Archduke  of  Austria,  Count  of 
Flanders,  who  was  to  marry  Madame  Renee,  sister  to 
the  qtieen.  This  marriage  was  broken  off  at  the  peace 
a  short  time  after,  and  she  married  the  Duke  of  Ferrara, 
as  we  have  said.  The  Queen  of  France,  widow  of 
Louis  XII,  married  the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  and  returned 

^  It  was  then  the  custom  to  give  a  triumphal  reception  to 
kings  and  queens,  which  were  very  sumptuous  and  very  mag- 
nificent for  those  times.  The  custom  ceased  in  Henry  the 
Second's  reign.  The  route  of  these  grand  entries  was  always 
through  the  gate  and  street  of  St.  Denis. 

^  He  was  a  grandson  of  John,  Duke  of  Orleans,  who  was  *he 
son  of  Louis  I,  also  Duke  of  Orleans,  and  Valentina  of  Milan. 
Louis  I.  was  brother  to  the  King  Charles  VI.  He  was  assassi- 
nated by  order  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  Francis  I,  as  the 
great-grandson  of  Valentina  of  Milan,  had,  through  her,  the 
same  claims  upon  this  duchy  as  Louis  XII. 


ziz  SFOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

to  England.  The  Duke  of  Bourbon  was  made  Con- 
stable of  France  at  twenty-six  years  of  age ;  and  his 
sister  married  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  Anthony  I. 

(1515.)  The  new  king  did  not  give  himself  com- 
pletely up  to  pleasure  ;  he  meditated  re-conquering  his 
Duchy  of  Milan,  which  the  Sforzas  continued  to  hold 
in  sovereignty.  He  ordered  the  troops  to  come  secretly 
by  the  Lyonnais  into  Dauphiny,  where  Bayard  (whom  he 
had  made  lieutenant-general  of  the  province)  was  await- 
ing them.  He  sent  orders  for  them  to  advance  into  the 
lands  of  the  Marquisate  of  Saluces,  where  the  Lord 
Prospero  Colonna  was  with  the  troops,  and  the  title  of 
lieutenant-general  of  the  pope,  and  treated  these  lands 
as  conquered  country,  excepting  one  place  called  Kavel, 
strong  enough  to  hold  out  against  him. 

We  have  seen,  in  the  course  of  this  history,  that 
Bayard  was  always  the  first  on  an  expedition,  and  the 
last  at  a  retreat.  ■  We  will  give  an  account  of  his  first 
endeavours  in  the  country.  He  knew  at  first  that  this 
Prospero  Colonna  had  with  him  300  men-at-arms,  and  a 
number  of  light  horse,  all  perfectly  mounted;  he  also 
knew  where  he  ordinarily  lodged,  and  resolved  to  sur- 
prise him.  He  had  with  him  his  company  of  100  men- 
at-arms,  and  from  300  to  400  foot-soldiers,  but  he  had 
not  enough  cavalry  to  carry  out  his  plan,  in  which  the 
infantry  were  of  no  service.  He  wrote  to  the  Constable 
de  Bourbon  at  Brian9on,tellinghim  this,  and  the  constable 
sent  word  to  the  king,  who  was  already  at  Grenoble,  and 
who  ordered  three  of  his  bravest  captains  (Chabannes, 
Humbercourt  and  D'Aubigny),  to  join  him  with  their 
companies. 

As  soon  as  Bayard  knew  they  were  on  the  road,  he 
entered  Piedmont  with  his  men-at-arms  only,  but 
Colonna,  knowing  their  small  number,  did  not  disturb 


IJFE    OF  BAYARD.  213 

himself,  and  remained  quiet.  The  knight  communicated 
his  plan  to  two  Piedmontese  gentlemen,  to  surprise  the 
town  of  Carmagnola.  Indeed,  as  soon  as  the  reinforce- 
ment arrived,  Bayard  assembled  the  captains,  and  showed 
them  that  there  was  no  time  to  lose,  because,  if  Colonna 
were  informed  of  their  number,  he  would  not  wait  for 
them,  or  perhaps  he  would  call  the  Swiss  to  his  aid, 
"  who  are,"  said  he,  "  in  large  numbers  at  Pignerol  and 
Saluces.  For  that  reason,"  he  continued,  "  my  advice 
is  that  you  give  your  horses  time  for  repose  and  refresh- 
ment to-night,  and  to-morrow  we  will  march  at  break 
of  day.  It  is  true  we  shall  have  a  stream  of  water  to 
pass,  but  the  Lord  of  Morete,  who  is  here  now,  and 
who  knows  the  country,  will  show  you  a  ford  where  you 
can  cross  without  danger."  Every  one  went  to  take  a 
few  hours'  rest,  and  between  two  and  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning  all  were  on  horseback,  and  marched  away 
as  quietly  as  possibly. 

Colonna  was  in  Carmagnola ;  but  having  the  fixed 
notion  that  Bayard  had  only  his  own  company,  he  would 
not  have  sallied  out  so  soon,  but  that  the  same  night 
that  the  French  were  making  their  plans  to  surprise 
him  at  break  of  day,  he  received  orders  to  go  to  Pignerol 
to  assist  at  a  council  which  was  to  be  held  there,  to  talk 
of  the  news  they  had  received  of  the  march  of  the 
troops  from  France.  He  set  out  then  pretty  early,  and 
well  accompanied,  to  go  and  dine  at  a  little  town  named 
Villafranca  on  the  Po,  at  seven  or  eight  miles  from 
Carmagnola.  When  Bayard's  company  arrived  at  the 
castle  of  the  last-named  town,  they  learnt  that  Prospero 
had  only  left  it  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  they  were 
informed  of  the  road  he  had  taken.  It  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  express  the  vexation  of  everybody  at  losing  such 
a  chance.     The  captains  deliberated  as  to  the  part  they 


214  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

had  to  perform,  some  wished  to  go  forward,  others  were 
undecided ;  but  Bayard  reassured  them,  saying  :  "  As 
we  have  come  so  far,  I  propose  that  we  follow  them, 
and  if  we  overtake  them  in  open  field,  it  must  be  sonie 
great  misfortune  indeed  which  will  prevent  our  leaving 
some  there." 

All  agreed  with  him,  and  said  it  was  necessary  to  set 
out  immediately ;  but  before  doing  so  the  Lord  of 
Morete  alone,  and  disguised,  was  sent  on  before,  to 
discover  the  enemy's  situations.  Morete  acquitted 
himself  well  and  quickly,  and  told  them,  on  his  return, 
that  Colonna  and  his  whole  escort  were  going  to  dine 
at  Villafranca  in  the  greatest  security.  They  imme- 
diately agreed  upon  the  order  of  their  march.  Hum- 
bercourt  was  to  go  first  with  100  archers ;  Bayard,  at  a 
bow-shot's  distance,  should  follow  him  with  100  men-at- 
arms  ;  Chabannes  and  D'Aubigny  bringing  up  the  rear 
with  the  remainder  of  the  troop. 

In  the  mean  time  Prospero  Colonna  had  received  in- 
formation from  one  of  his  spies  that  the  French  were 
in  the  fields  in  large  numbers.  "  I  know  what  it  is," 
he  replied,  "it  is  only  Captain  Bayard  and  his  company, 
at  least  if  the  others  have  not  flown  over  the  moun- 
tains." 

A  moment  afterwards  another  spy  came  and  said  to 
him :  "  My  lord,  the  French  are  quite  close  to  us  with 
more  than  1000  horse." 

This  second  piece  of  news  staggered  him  a  little,  and 
calling  one  of  his  gentlemen,  he  said  to  him  :  "  Take 
tv/enty  knights  with  you,  follow  the  road  to  Carmagnola, 
and  see  what  is  goin^  on,  and  come  and  tell  me."  Then 
he  sent  his  quarter-master  to  go  and  prepare  his  men  at 
Pignerol,  and  sat  down  to  table. 

In  the  meantime  the  French  troop  was  nearing  them, 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  215 

according  to  the  plan  that  had  been  agreed  upon  ;  the 
first,  being  at  about  a  mile  and  a-half  from  Villafranca, 
discovered  the  gentleman  whom  Prospero  had  sent  to 
bring  news  of  thera.  As  soon  as  he  and  his  escort 
caught  sight  of  the  French,  they  turned  their  backs 
and  retraced  their  steps  at  full  speed.  Humbercourt 
and  his  men  pursued  them  at  full  speed,  after  informing 
Bayard  of  what  had  happened,  who  immediately  fol- 
lowed in  their  train.  Humbercourt  reached  the  fugitives 
as  they  were  entering  the  town,  and  about  to  close  the 
gate  ;  but  he  and  his  men  crying  "  France !  France  ! " 
hindered  their  doing  so,  and  did  marvellous  feats  of 
arms,  without  any  accident,  excepting  a  slight  wound 
that  Humbercourt  received  in  the  face.  Bayard,  who 
had  soon  joined  him,  with  much  clatter  and  noise, 
made  himself  master  of  the  gate. 

The  quarter-master,  who  heard  this  noise  as  he  left 
the  town  by  the  opposite  gate,  returned,  and  put  him- 
self in  defence,  but  he  was  soon  conquered,  and  part  ot 
his  men  slain.  Chabannes  and  D'Aubigny,  who  were 
close  behind  Bayard,  put  a  guard  at  the  first  gate,  and 
went  themselves  to  take  care  of  the  second  (for  there 
were  only  two),  so  that  .no  one  should  leave  it ;  but 
notwithstanding  these  precautions,  two  Albanians  crossed 
the  small  plank  of  the  drawbridge,  and  ran  to  a  troop 
of  4000  Swiss,  telling  them  of  the  danger  Prospero  was 
in.  While  he  was  gone,  Prospero  was  surrounded,  and 
attacked  in  the  house  where  he  was  dining.  He  tried 
at  first  to  defend  himself;  but  when  he  saw  the  large 
number  of  assailants,  and  heard  the  names  of  the  cap- 
tains who  were  against  him,  he  saw  that  resistance  was 
useless,  and  gave  himself  up  with  great  regret,  in  des- 
pair at  having  been  surprised  there,  instead  of  waiting 
for  the  French  in  the  open  field. 


2i6  SPOTLESS   AND   FEARLESS. 

Bayard,  who  was  as  generous  in  victory  as  he  was 
brave  in  action,  said  to  him  to  console  him  :  "  Lord 
Prospero,  it  is  the  fate  of  war ;  we  gain  one  day  and  lose 
the  next ;  but  you  tell  me  that  you  wish  you  had  met 
me  in  the  open  field;  thank  God  that  he  did  not  permit 
it,  for  I  assure  you  that,  seeing  the  courage  of  our  men, 
you  and  yours  would  have  been  troubled  to  escape  us." 

"  I  would  to  God,"  replied  Prospero,  coldly,  "  that 
it  had  happened  so.  I  would  willingly  have  fallen  on 
the  field." 

With  him  were  taken  three  captains,  the  Count  of 
Policastro,  Pierre  Morgant,  and  Charles  Cadamastro. 
Afterwards  the  French  began  to  plunder  their  baggage 
and  effects. 

The  booty  was  considerable  considering  the  few  men 
who  were  taken ;  and,  if  they  had  been  careful,  they 
would  have  had  above  the  worth  of  100,000  ducats; 
but  there  were  many  things  broken  and  lost.  The 
most  valuable  part  of  the  booty  was  the  horses,  of 
which  there  were  nearly  700,  and,  amongst  the  number, 
400  Spanish  horses  of  remarkable  beauty.  Prospero 
confessed  to  them  that,  for  his  part,  he  lost  more  than 
50,000  ducats'  worth  in  gold  and  silver  vessels,  jewels, 
and  coined  money.  The  French  could  not  carry  all 
away,  for  they  were  informed  that  the  Swiss  were  com- 
ing to  attack  them,  and  that  they  were  not  far  off. 
Hearing  that,  they  had  retreat  sounded,  everyone  seizing 
what  he  could  carry  off  most  easily.  They  made  the 
prisoners  march  before  the  troop,  and  retired. 

As  they  left  the  town  by  one  gate,  the  Swiss  entered 
by  the  other.  They  had  both  horse  and  foot  soldiers; 
but  they  did  not  pursue  the  French.  Thus  finished  this 
expedition,  of  which  Bayard  had  the  honour  both  of  the 
planning  and  success,  and  in  which  Prospero  Colonna 


LIFE   OF  BAYARD.  21  j 

was  taken  prisoner  bj  a  man  whom  he  had  boasted  be 
would  take  sooner  or  later,  like  a  bird  in  a  cage.  The 
king  in  the  meantime,  at  the  head  of  his  army,  had 
already  advanced  far  over  the  mountains,  which  no  army 
had  ever  crossed  before.  At  the  mountain  of  Santa 
Paolo  he  received  the  news  of  the  taking  of  Prospero. 
This  intelligence  gave  him  great  pleasure,  for  he  knew 
Prospero  to  be  a  valiant  man,  and  if  he  had  been  pre- 
sent at  the  battle  which  was  given  a  short  time  after, 
he  would  have  had  with  him  at  least  1000  men-at- 
arms,  some  Spanish,  and  some  belonging  to  the  pope, 
who  would  have  been  powerful  enough  to  decide  the 
victory. 


CHAPTER  XXin. 

I  HE  king  having  crossed  the  mountains,  de- 
scended into  Piedmont,  and  passed  through 
Turin,  where  he  was  received  by  the  Duke 
of  Savoy  in  a  manner  befitting  his  dignity 
as  King  of  France,  and  as  a  near  relation  and  ally  of 
the  Duke.  The  Swiss,  who  were  posted  in  various  parts 
to  bar  their  progress,  having  heard  of  the  overthrow  of 
Prospero  Colonna,  took  the  road  to  Milan,  with  the 
French  at  their  heels.  While  these  events  were  occur- 
ring, a  truce  was  proposed,  and  looked  upon  even  as 
already  concluded.  That  gave  an  opportunity  to  the 
Duke  of  Gueldres,  an  ally  of  France,  who  had  brought 
10,000  lansquenets  to  the  king's  assistance,  to  return  to 
his  country,  leaving  his  troops  under  the  orders  of  the 
Duke  of  Guise  (Claude  of  Lorraine,  brother  of  the 
reigning  duke),  and  of  his  lieutenant,  the  Captain 
Michel.  The  king  approached  to  within  twelve  or 
fifteen  miles  of  Milan,  where  the  Swiss  were  established. 
But  the  negotiations  were  broken  by  the  wickedness  of 
the  Cardinal  of  Sion.^    He  was  a  sworn  enemy  of  France, 

^  Matthew  Schiner,  or,  according  to  others,  Schaner,  Bishop 
of  Sion,  in  the  Valais,  a  mortal  enemy  of  the  French  name. 
He  died  a  short  time  after  this  exhibition  of  anger. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  219 

and  no-w,  gave  a  fatal  proof  of  his  hatred.  He  was  at 
Mihin,  and  feared  that,  by  the  treaty  then  negotiating, 
this  duchy  would  fall  into  the  king's  hands.  Whilst 
Lautrec  had  gone  to  Galenas,  to  carry  the  necessary 
preliminary  money,  he  convened  the  Swiss,  and  haran- 
gued them  with  so  much  rage  and  fury,  that  they  took 
up  arms,  left  the  town,  and  went  like  madmen  to  attack 
the  king's  camp,  which  was  not  prepared  for  this  violent 
incursion.  The  constable  who  was  in  the  vanguard 
quickly  put  himself  on  the  defensive,  and  the  king,  who 
had  just  sat  down  to  table,  left  it  to  go  to  the  help  of 
his  men.  The  skirmish  had  already  begun,  and  many 
were  dead  on  both  sides.  The  king's  lansquenets,  wish- 
ing to  signalize  themselves  by  a  bold  stroke,  and  throw 
themselves  on  the  Swiss,  tried  to  cross  a  ditch,  which 
was  before  the  French  camp  ;  but  when  they  had  crossed 
it  to  the  number  of  between  700  and  800,  the  Swiss 
attacked  them  on  the  flank,  and  drove  the  greater  part  of 
them  into  the  ditch.  The  slaughter  would  have  been 
immense,  if  the  Duke  of  Guise,  the  constable,  the 
Count  of  St,  Pol,  Bayard,  and  several  others,  had  not 
gone  to  their  assistance,  and  driven  back  the  Swiss. 
The  Duke  of  Guise  was  left  for  dead  in  this  action. 
The  vanguard  routed  the  enemy,  2000  of  whom,  in 
their  flight,  passed  before  the  king,  who  charged  them 
briskly,  and  killed  many ;  but  he  was  in  danger  of 
losing  his  life,  for  he  had  his  bufi"  coat  pierced  with  a 
halberd  stroke. 

The  night  separated  the  combatants,  who  did  not 
meet  again.  Every  one  retired  to  his  own  side,  and 
remained  under  arms  till  day,  the  king  remaining  on 
horseback  with  the  meanest  of  the  soldiers. 

In  the  last  charge  upon  the  Swiss  a  strange  adventure 
happened  to  Bayard,  in  which  he  marvellously  escaped 


220  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

losing  his  life.  He  was  mounted  on  a  spirited  liorse, 
who,  feeling  himself  wounded  with  many  pikes,  slipped 
his  bridle,  and  not  feeling  the  bit,  took  his  course  right 
through  the  Swiss,  and  would  have  carried  his  rider  into 
another  troop  which  would  have  given  him  no  quarter. 
By  good  fortune,  the  horse  became  entangled  in  some 
vine-stocks  hanging  from  one  tree  to  another,  according 
to  the  Italian  custom,  and  there  he  was  obliged  to  stop. 
If  Bayard  was  ever  in  fear  for  his  life  it  was  then  ; 
however,  he  preserved  his  customary  presence  of  mind. 
He  slid  from  his  horse  to  the  ground,  left  all  his  armour, 
and  creeping  on  his  hands  and  feet  so  as  to  escape  ob- 
servation, turned  to  the  direction  whence  he  heard  cries 
of  "  France  !  France ! "  and  arrived  in  safety  at  the 
king's  camp,  thanking  God  with  all  his  heart  for  his 
deliverance  from  so  great  a  danger. 

The  first  man  he  met  was  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  by 
whom  he  was  particularly  beloved  and  esteemed.  The 
duke  was  much  astonished  to  see  him  on  foot,  unarmed, 
and  in  such  a  plight.  Bayard  related  his  adventure  to 
him,  and  the  prince  immediately  gave  him  a  splendid 
horse,  which  he  had  received  as  a  present  from  Bayard, 
who  gained  it  at  the  first  taking  of  Brescia.^ 


•  "  This  horse,"  says  the  Loyal  Servant,  "  was  named  Le 
Carinau,  and  had  been  formerly  presented  to  the  duke  by 
Bayard  himself,  who  had  won  him  at  the  taking  of  Brescia. 
He  (the  horse)  was  left  for  dead  after  the  battle  of  Ravenna,  when 
the  good  knight  leapt  from  off  his  back,  by  reason  that  he  had 
two  pike  wounds  in  the  flanks,  and  more  than  twenty  gashes  in 
the  head  from  swords ;  but  next  day  he  was  found  grazing,  and 
began  to  neigh  ;  in  consequence  of  which  he  was  brought  back  to 
the  good  knight's  quarters,  and  there  healed.  Incredible 
things  are  told  respecting  him  :  he  suffered  himself  to  be  handled 
like  any  human  being,  probes  to  be  put  into  his  wounds  with- 


LIFE    OF   BAYARI).  221 

Bayard,  mounted  once  more,  was  grieved  at  being 
without  his  helmet,  not  only  because  he  was  so  heated 
with  walking  that  he  was  in  danger  of  taking  a  violent 
cold  without  it,  but  he  did  not  consider  the  battle  over 
yet.  At  this  moment  he  saw  near  him  a  gentleman,  a 
friend  of  his,  who  had  his  helmet  carried  by  his  page ; 
he  borrowed  it  of  him,  resolved  not  to  return  it  till 
after  the  battle,  which  had  begun  at  daybreak,  and  did 
not  end  until  nearly  mid-day. 

The  Swiss  at  first  directed  their  attacks  against  the 
French  artillery,  who  destroyed  a  great  number  of  them. 
The  fight  was  fierce  and  bloody  on  both  sides  ;  at  last 
they  were  entirely  defeated,  and  left  10,000  or  12,000  of 
their  men  on  the  field.  The  rest  withdrew  towards 
Milan,  fighting  their  way,  and  in  pretty  good  order. 
They  were  pursued  both  by  the  French  "and  Venetians, 
whom  the  seignory  had  sent  to  the  king,  commanded  by 
the  noble  Bartholomew  d'Alviani,  who  lost  several  of 
his  best  officers,  amongst  others  the  young  Petigliano.^ 
The  French  also  lost  many  illustrious  men,  such  as  the 
Count  of  St.  Pol,  the  brave  Humbercourt,  the  Count 
of  Saucerre,  and  Lord  of  Muy,  the  Prince  of  Salmon 
(cadet  of  Louis  de  la  Trimouille),  and  the  Count  of 
Bussy,  brother  of  the  late  grand  master  of  Chaumont, 
who  was  wounded  there,  and  died  soon  after. 

The  Swiss  did  not  remain  long  at  Milan.     The   day 


out  stirring,  and  ever  after,  when  a  sword  chanced  to  meet  his 
eyes,  he  would  run  and  seize  it  fiercely  with  his  teeth.  Was 
never  seen  a  more  courageous  horse,  not  even  excepting  Alex- 
ander's courser,  Bucephalus." — From  the  translation  by  Robert 
Southey. 

'  He  belonged,  as  also  the  Count  Petigliano,  whom  we  have  so 
often  mentioned,  to  the  illustrious  house  of  the  Ursino  at  Rome. 


222  SPOTLESS    AXD   FEARLESS. 

after  their  defeat  tliey  commenced  their  journey  to 
their  own  country.  The  king  was  undecided  whether 
he  should  send  troops  after  them  to  put  an  end  to  them ; 
but  he  concluded  that  it  was  better  to  let  them  go,  fore- 
seeing that  he  might  require  them  in  the  end  ;  but  if 
he  had  wished,  not  a  single  one  would  have  returned 
whence  he  came.  So  much  for  the  success  which  at- 
tended the  charitable  harangue  of  the  Cardinal  of  Sion. 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  during  supper,  the 
king  talked  a  great  deal  of  this  battle  and  of  those  who 
had  distinguished  themselves  in  it.  All  voices  united  to 
give  the  palm  to  the  knight  Bayard,  who,  as  he  always 
did,  had  performed  noble  and  valiant  deeds,  and  who 
received  from  the  king  the  most  glorious  reward  that  a 
subject  can  hope  for  from  his  prince.  The  king  wished 
to  receive  the  order  of  knighthood  from  his  hands. 
Bayard  excused  himself  with  his  ordinary  modesty, 
saying  that  such  honour  did  not  belong  to  him,  but 
rather  to  princes  of  the  blood,  or  other  great  lords,  who 
had  distinguished  themselves  more  than  he  had.  But 
the  king  was  determined,  and  ordered  him  to  do  his 
bidding,  in  these  words  : — 

"  Before  bestowing  the  honour  of  knighthood  on  those 
who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  battle,  I  must 
myself  receive  that  honour  from  one  who  is  a  knight ; 
for  which  reason,  Bayard,  my  friend,  I  wish  to  be 
knighted  by  your  hand  this  day,  because  he  who  has 
fought  on  foot  and  on  horseback  better  than  all  others  is 
reputed  the  most  worthy  knight.  It  is  thus  with  you, 
who  have  fought  in  many  battles  against  many  nations. 
So,  Bayard,  make  haste,  and  quote  neither  laws  nor 
canons.  Do  my  will  and  command,  if  you  wish  to  be 
amongst  the  number  of  my  good  servants  and  subjects." 

"  I  can  only  obey,"  replied  Bayard,  and  taking  his 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  223 

sword,  lie  said  :  "  Sire,  may  this  be  as  efficacious  as  if 
done  by  Roland,  or  Oliver,  Godfrey,  or  Baldwin,  his  bro- 
ther." Then  he  performed  the  ceremony,  and  added  : 
"  In  good  truth,  you  are  the  first  prince  that  ever  was 
made  a  knight.  God  grant  that  in  battle  you  may 
never  fly."  Then,  having  kissed  his  sword,  and  holding 
it  in  his  right  hand,  he  said  :  "  Glorious  sword,  that  to- 
day hast  had  the  honour  of  knighting  the  greatest  king 
in  the  world,  I  will  only  employ  thee  in  future  against 
the  infidels,  enemies  of  the  Christian  name.  In  truth, 
my  good  sword,  thou  shalt  be  kept  as  a  sacred  relic,  and 
honoured  above  all  others."  Then  he  made  two  leaps, 
and  replaced  his  sword  in  its  scabbard.^ 

This  sword  has  unfortunately  been  lost.^  Charles 
Emanuel,  Duke  of  Savoy,  wished  to  have  it  as  a  relic 
of  great  value,  and  asked  the  heirs  of  Bayard  for  it 
after  his  death.  Not  succeeding  in  getting  that,  he  ob- 
tained his  mace  from  Charles  of  Motet,  Lord  of  Chichil- 
iano,  one  of  his  heirs,  to  whom  he  wrote  thanking  him, 
saying,  "  that,  mingled  with  the  satisfaction  that  he  felt 
at  placing  this  treasure  in  the  best  place  in  his  gallery, 
was  a  feeling  of  grief  that  it  should  not  still  remain  in 
such  good  hands  as  those  of  its  original  owners." 

Maximilian  Sforza,  who  claimed  to  be  the  legitimate 
Duke  of  Milan  as  his  father's  heir,  retired  into  the  castle 
after  the  defeat  of  the  Swiss ;  but  as  soon  as  he  saw  th^ 
preparations  far  besieging  it,  he  gave  it  up,  and  left  it 
with  his  men. 

The  king,  enjoying  a  little  more  tranquillity,  went  to 


*  According  to  the  Memoirs  of  Fleuranges,  Bayard  conferred 
the  honour  of  knighthood  on  Francis  I.  before  the  battle ;  other 
historians  agree  with  the  Loyal  Servant,  and  say  after. 

*  See  additional  note  at  the  end  of  this  volume. 


424  SPOTLESS    AND   FEARLESS. 

Bologna  to  see  Pope  Leo  X,  who  gave  him  a  magnifi- 
cent reception ;  and  after  a  short  stay  he  returned  to 
Milan,  whence  shortly  afterwards  he  travelled  to  his 
kingdom,  leaving  the  constable,  the  Duke  of  Bourbon,  as 
his  lieutenant-general. 

Francis  I.  entered  his  kingdom  through  Provence, 
where  he  was  met  by  the  queen,  his  wife,  and  Madame 
de  Beaujeu,  his  mother,  whom  he  had  appointed  regent 
before  he  set  out  for  Italy. 

Just  at  this  time  (the  23rd  of  January,  1515)  died 
Ferdinand,  King  of  Arragon,  the  husband  of  the  late 
incomparable  Isabella,  Queen  of  Castille.  They  only 
left  one  daughter,  known  as  Jeanne  la  Folic,  then  the 
widow  of  Philip  le  Beau,  Archduke  of  Austria,  and  the 
mother  of  Charles  V.  and  Ferdinand  I,  both  emperors. 

A  short  time  afterwards  died  John  d'Albret,  King  of 
Navarre,  whose  kingdom  Ferdinand  had  usurped,  as  we 
have  seen  in  the  course  of  this  narrative.^ 


"  In  his  will  he  ordered  that  his  body  should  be  placed  in  the 
tomb  of  the  royal  house  at  Parapeluna,  although  this  town  be- 
longed to  the  king  of  Spain  ;  not  that  he  imagined  he  should 
be  obeyed,  but  he  did  it  in  order  to  maintain  a  tone  of  sove- 
reignty over  the  town  and  his  usurped  kingdom  of  Navarre. 


CHAPTER   XXIY. 


jHE  emperor,  1516,  jealous  of  the  victory  that 
the  king  had  gained,  and  which  made  him 
master  of  Milan,  assembled  a  very  large 
number  of  lansquenets,  with  Swiss  from  the 
canton  of  Zurich,  and  the  Grisons,  and  marched  in 
person  towards  the  Duchy  of  Milan.  The  constable, 
not  having  sufficient  troops  to  go  and  meet  him,  shut 
himself  up  in  his  town  with  his  army ;  but  having  a  few 
days  afterwards  received  a  reinforcement  of  8000  or 
10,000  Swiss,  the  emperor  did  not  give  him  time  to  give 
him  battle,  but  went  away  quicker  than  he  came,  leav- 
ing a  goodly  number  of  his  soldiers  as  prisoners  of  war. 
He  died  in  the  following  year,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
grandson,  Charles  Y,  already  King  of  Spain  in  right  of 
his  mother  Jeanne  la  FoUe. 

The  King  of  France  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
himself  father  of  a  dauphin,  born  in  the  town  of  Am- 
boise  on  the  last  day  of  February.  The  news  of  the 
birth  of  this  child  was  received  with  universal  joy.  He 
died  a  dauphin  in  the  year  1536. 

(1519-1522).     Francis  I,  having  no  cause  of  quarrel 
with  tlie  new  emperor,  was  remaining  quiet,  and  enjoying 
Q 


226  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

the  pleasures  of  the  court,  when  an  unforeseen  event 
happened  to  disturb  peace. 

The  Lord  of  Sedan,  Robert  de  la  Marck,  of  whom  we 
have  spoken  before,  and  who  was  in  the  service  of 
France,  made  inroads  upon  Charles'  territory,  without 
any  apparent  cause  for  such  an  unjust  attempt.  The 
emperor  soon  got  ready  more  troops  than  were  neces- 
sary to  reduce  so  feeble  an  enemy,  and  to  make  himself 
master  of  the  country.  His  army  consisted  of  40,000 
men,  commanded  by  two  brave  generals,  Henry,  Count 
of  Nassau,  and  the  Lord  of  Sickeiigen,  with  110  pieces 
of  cannon.  This  army  overran  the  territories  of  the 
Lord  of  Sedan,  took  from  him  four  places,  Floranges, 
Bouillon,  Messancourt,  and  Soignes.  Some  others  de- 
fended themselves ;  but  Sedan  and  Jametz  were  not 
besieged,  being  almost  impregnable.  This  expedition 
gave  umbrage  to  the  King  Francis  I. 

He  could  not  calmly  stand  by  and  see  his  province  of 
Champagne  at  the  mercy  of  so  formidable  an  army,  so 
he  sent  his  brother-in-law,  the  Duke  d'Alengon,  with  a 
number  of  cavalry,  to  that  frontier,  and  went  himself  to 
Kheims. 

The  Imperialists  affected  not  to  give  any  sign  of  hos- 
tility, paying  strictly  for  all  they  bought  from  the 
French  territories,  and  their  general,  the  Count  of 
Nassau,  keeping  strict  order  there,  being  expressly 
bidden  to  do  so  by  the  emperor,  who  wished,  he  said,  to 
maintain  peace  with  the  king. 

However,  all  at  once,  and  without  any  declaration  of 
war,  the  Imperialists  laid  siege  to  JNIonzon,  of  which 
place  the  Lord  of  Montmort,  grand  equerry  of  Brittany, 
was  governor,  who,  having  only  his  company  and  some 
few  foot-soldiers,  was  not  in  a  state  to  defend  a  place 
surprised,  and  bare  of  provisions  and  artillery. 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  227 

What  was  still  more  unfortunate  for  him  was,  that 
although  he  had  the  courage  to  defend  it  to  the  last 
breath,  his  men  refused  service,  and  forced  him  to  give 
it  up  on  condition  that  their  lives  should  be  saved. 
Some  of  them  wished  to  make  him  appear  criminal  to 
the  king,  as  not  having  done  his  duty  ;  but  those  who 
understood  the  ways  of  war  gave  him  justice,  especially 
those  who  knew  that  he  would  rather  have  buried  him- 
self under  the  ruins  than  such  a  misfortune  should  have 
happened. 

This  event  made  the  king  uneasy  for  Champagne,  and 
as  the  town  of  Mezieres  was  the  nearest  to  Monzon,  he 
considered  that  it  was  also  the  first  to  be  taken  care  of, 
so  much  the  more,  because,  if  it  had  been  taken.  Cham- 
pagne was  defenceless.  He  immediately  sent  to  the 
knight  Bayard,  as  the  man  in  whom  he  placed  most 
confidence,  and  the  one  most  capable  of  defending  the 
place  long  enough  to  put  him  in  a  condition  to  assemble 
an  army,  and  make  head  against  that  of  the  emperor. 

When  Bayard  arrived  a  council  of  war  was  held,  at 
which  he  assisted.  The  state  of  the  town  of  Mezieres 
was  taken  into  consideration,  the  proximity  of  the  ene- 
my's army,  and  the  impossibility  of  providing  troops  and 
furnishing  them  with  provisions  and  artillery  imme- 
diately. The  result  of  their  conference  was  that  they 
should  burn  Mezieres  and  devastate  the  environs  to 
starve  the  hostile  army.  But  'Bayard  was  opposed  to 
such  a  proceeding,  and  said  to  the  king :  "  Sire,  no 
place  is  weak  where  there  are  men  capable  of  defending 
it."  And  he  ofiered  to  go  and  do  his  best  with  the 
town. 

The  king  gave  him  the  commission,  and  sent  orders  to 
the  Duke  d'Alengon,  the  governor  of  the  province,  to 
supply  him  with  all  that  he  wanted,  men,  artillery,  pro- 
visions, and  ammunition. 


228  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

Bayard  had  never  undertaken  a  charge  which  gave 
him  more  pleasure,  nor  a  better  opportunity  of  serving 
his  master  and  acquiring  honour.  He  betook  himself  in 
all  diligence  to  Mezieres,  with  the  Duke  of  Lorraine's 
company  of  100  men-at-arms,  whom  he  commanded  as 
his  lieutenant,  and  with  his  chosen  captains,  Charles 
Alleman,  Lord  of  Laval,  and  Peter  Terrail,  Lord  of 
Bernin,  his  cousins ;  Antoine  de  Clermont,  Viscount 
Tallard ;  Francis  de  Sassenage  Ennard,  Guiffrey,  Beau- 
mont, and  others,  all  from  Dauphiny,  and  the  flower  of 
the  nobility,  who  all  brought  their  companies  with 
them. 

Anne  of  Montmorency,  then  twenty-eight  years  old, 
and  afterwards  grand  master  and  constable  of  France, 
wished  to  follow  him  with  his  company  of  men-at-arms, 
"  doing  himself  the  honour,"  as  he  said,  "  of  serving 
under  so  great  and  renowned  a  captain."  Many  other 
gentlemen  imitated  this  good  example,  and  joined 
Bayard  to  learn  the  art  of  war  from  him;  amongst 
others  were  Captain  Boccara,  of  the  house  of  Reffuge, 
and  the  Lord  of  Montmoreau,  who  each  brought  him 
1000  foot-soldiers. 

On  his  arrival,  he  found  the  place  not  in  a  condition 
to  sustain  the  siege,  which  was  expected  that  day  or  the 
next.  His  first  care  was  to  send  away  across  the  bridge 
of  the  Meuse  all  the  useless  mouths,^  and  to  destroy  the 

'  Useless  mouths,  i.  e.  men  who  would  eat  but  not  fight. 
Bayard  seems  to  have  taken  the  same  view  of  these  lazy  drones 
in  war  as  Milton  in  the  church : — 

Such  as  for  their  bellies'  sake, 

Creep  and  intrude,  and  climb  into  the  fold ! 
Of  other  care  they  little  reckoning  make, 
Than  how  to  scramble  at  the  shearers'  feast, 
And  shove  away  the  worth}'  bidden  guest! 
Blind  mouths!— Lycib AS,  1.  114. 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  229 

bridge  as  soon  as  they  were  outside.  After  that  he 
assembled  all  the  principal  townspeople  and  the  chief 
men  of  the  garrison  he  found  there,  and  made  them 
swear  not  to  talk  of  giving  up  the  place,  but  to  defend 
it  to  the  death.  "  And  if  we  are  in  want  of  provisions," 
added  he,  laughing,  "we  will  eat  our  horses  and  our 
boots."  Then  he  ordered  that  the  parts  that  were  for- 
tified should  be  repaired,  and  that  fortifications  should 
be  made  where  there  were  none  ;  and  to  give  courage 
to  the  workers,  he  was  the  first  to  put  his  hand  to  the 
work,  and  distributed  more  than  6000  crowns  of  his  own 
money  amongst  them. 

"  Comrades,"  he  said,  "  shall  it  be  said  that  the  town 
was  lost  by  our  faults,  seeing  what  a  gallant  company  of 
brave  men  we  make  here  altogether  ?  It  seems  to  me 
that  if  we  were  in  a  meadow,  with  only  a  ditch  four 
feet  wide  before  us,  that  we  could  fight  a  whole  day 
without  being  defeated.  Thank  God,  we  have  ditches, 
walls,  and  a  rampart,  and  before  our  enemy  plants  his 
foot  there  I  think  many  will  be  sleeping  in  the  ditches." 

In  short,  he  so  encouraged  his  men  that  all  thought 
they  were  quite  invincible,  having  him  for  a  leader. 

Two  days  after  his  arrival,  the  siege  was  laid  on  both 
sides  the  Meuse,  on  one  side  by  Captain  Sickcngen  with 
14,000  or  15,000  men,  and  on  the  other  side  by  the 
Count  of  Xassau  with  more  than  20,000.  The  next  day 
they  sent  a  herald  to  summon  Bayard  to  give  the  place 
up  to  them.  The  herald,  being  introduced  into  the 
town,  delivered  his  message,  which  was  to  inform  the 
commander,  on  the  part  of  his  masters,  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  resist  them  long,  that  they  esteemed  the 
great  and  praiseworthy  chivalry  that  was  in  him,  but 
that  it  would  be  marvellously  annoying  if  they  were  taken 
by  assault,  for  his  honour  would  thereby  be  lessened, 


230  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

and  possibly  it  might  cost  Jbim  his  life.  In  fine,  if  he 
would  give  himself  up,  they  ^vould  make  as  good  a  capi- 
tulation as  he  could  wish.  Bavard,  to  these  propositions 
replied,  smiling,  "  That  he  was  not  aware  he  liad  the 
honour  of  being  known  to  the  Lords  of  Nassau  and  of 
Sickengen,  that  he  thanked  them  for  their  gracious 
offers ;  but  that,  as  the  king  had  chosen  him  to  guard 
the  place,  he  would  take  care  of  it  so  well  that  they 
should  be  tired  of  the  siege  before  he  was,  and  that  so 
far  from  thinking  of  leaving  it,  he  hoped  to  make  a  bridge 
of  dead  bodies  in  the  ditches  over  which  they  could  pass 
out."  The  herald  took  his  leave  with  this  answer,  and 
repeated  it  to  his  masters  in  the  presence  of  a  French 
captain,  named  John  Picard,  who  said  to  them,  "  My 
lords,  I  know  this  Captain  Bayard.  I  have  served 
under  him.  Do  not  expect  to  enter  this  place  while  he 
is  living ;  he  is  a  man  wdio  gives  heart  to  the  most 
cowardly.  I  assure  you  that  he  and  his  men  would  die 
at  the  breach  before  letting  us  put  foot  inside  the  town, 
and  for  my  part,  I  wish  there  were  2000  more  soldiers 
in  the  place  rather  than  this  Bayard." 

"  Captain  Picard,"  answered  the  Count  of  Nassau,  "  is 
this  Bayard  of  bronze  or  steel  ?  If  he  is  so  brave,  let 
him  get  ready  to  give  us  an  opportunity  of  seeing  him  ; 
for  in  the  next  four  days  I  will  send  him  so  many  cannon 
shots  that  he  won't  know  which  way  to  turn." 

"  All  in  good  time,"  said  Picard,  "  but  you  won't  have 
it  all  your  own  way." 

Immediately  upon  that  the  two  generals  ordered  bat- 
teries of  cannon,  each  one  from  his  side,  and  were  so 
well  obeyed  that  in  less  than  four  days  they  had  fired 
more  than  5000  shots  against  the  town.  The  besieged 
answered  very  well,  but  their  artillery  was  small  in 
comparison  with  that  of  their  opponents.     As  soon  as 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  231 

the  Lord  of  Montmoreau's  1000  men  heard  the  first  plaj 
of  these  batteries  they  fled  in  spite  of  him,  some  by  the 
gate,  and  the  rest  over  the  walls.  When  this  flight  was 
reported  to  Bayard,  his  answer  was,  "  So  much  the 
better.  I  like  such  knaves  better  outside  than  in  ;  such 
rabble  were  not  worthy  to  gain  honour  with  us." 

However,  the  town  was  greatly  inconvenienced  by 
the  firing  from  Sickengen's  quarters,  for,  as  he  had  placed 
himself  on  a  hill,  he  had  a  great  advantage  over  it.  Bay- 
ard, who  not  only  was  the  bravest  and  wisest  man  of  his 
age,  but  without  his  equal  for  expedients,  thought  of  a 
very  singular  plan  to  dislodge  Sickengen  from  his  place, 
and  this  expedient  succeeded.  It  was  to  write  to  the 
Lord  Robert  de  la  Marck,  who  was  at  Sedan,  a  letter, 
in  which,  after  he  had  informed  him  that  he  was  besieged 
on  both  sides,  he  added,  "  If  I  remember  rightly,  you 
told  me  a  year  ago  that  you  proposed  getting  the  Count 
of  Nassau  into  the  service  of  the  king,  our  master,  also 
that  he  is  a  relation  of  yours.  I  should  wish  such  a 
thing  to  take  place  as  much  as  you,  because  he  has 
acquired  the  reputation  of  being  very  gallant.  If  you 
think  such  a  change  possible,  I  advise  you  to  bring  it 
about  rather  to-day  than  to-morrow,  because  before 
twenty-four  hours  have  passed,  he  and  his  camp  will  be 
blown  to  pieces.  I  have  news  that  12,000  Swiss  and 
800  men-at-arms  will  sleep  to-night  at  three  leagues  from 
here,  who  to-morrow  at  break  of  day  will  fall  upon  him, 
while  on  my  side  I  shall  make  a  vigorous  onslaught,  and 
fortunate  will  be  he  who  escapes.  I  thought  it  my  duty 
to  warn  you  of  this,  trusting  to  you  to  keep  my  secret." 
When  the  letter  was  written,  Bayard  gave  it  in  charge 
of  a  peasant,  to  whom  he  gave  a  crown,  saying,  "  Go 
and  carry  this  letter  to  the  Lord  of  La  Marck,  who  is 
at  Sedan,  three  leagues  from  here,  and  give  him  the 
compliments  of  the  writer,  Captain  Bayard." 


232  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

The  knight  knew  perfectly  well  that  the  peasant 
would  be  infallibly  arrested  on  the  way,  as  indeed  he 
was,  at  two  bow-shots  from  the  town,  and  taken  to 
Sickengen,  who  questioned  him.  The  poor  man  thought 
his  last  moment  had  come.  He  was  indeed  in  great 
danger  of  being  hanged.  "  My  lord,"  «aid  he,  "  the 
great  captain  who  is  in  our  town  has  sent  me  to  take 
this  letter  to  the  Lord  of  Sedan."  And,  taking  it  from 
a  purse,  he  gave  it  up. 

Sickengen  opened  it,  and  was  strangely  astonished  at 
what  it  contained,  and  thought  that  the  Count  of  Nassau, 
with  whom  he  had  had  high  words  a  short  time  before 
on  the  subject  of  the  command,  and  whom  he  had 
refused  to  obey,  wished,  out  of  revenge,  to  do  him  a 
bad  turn.  "  But,"  said  he,  swearing  a  fearful  oath,  "  I 
will  put  a  stop  to  his  malice."  Then  he  called  for  five 
or  six  of  his  captains,  and  gave  them  the  letter  to  read. 
They  were  as  indignant  as  he,  thinking,  like  their  general, 
that  the  count  had  put  their  camp  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Meuse  on  purpose  to  sacrifice  them.  Sickengen, 
without  asking  their  advice,  immediately  had  drums 
beaten  to  head  quarters,  sounded  for  assembly,  and 
made  them  march  olf  and  cross  the  river. 

The  count,  who  heard  the  noise  of  this  removal  from 
his  camp,  sent  a  gentleman  to  know  what  it  was.  This 
messenger  saw  the  body  of  the  army  in  arms,  and  taking 
their  way  to  the  Meuse,  he  returned  and  told  what  he 
had  seen.  The  count's  surprise  was  great  indeed, 
especially  as  he  knew  that  to  go  away  was  to  raise  the 
siege.  He  sent  a  second  time  to  beg  Sickengen  not  to 
remove  the  camp  till  they  had  consulted  together,  that 
if  he  did  so  he  would  be  acting  contrary  to  his  duty, 
and  against  the  emperor's  service.  Sickengen  coldly 
replied :  "  Go  and  tell  the  Count  of  Nassau  that  I  am 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  233 

not  his  dupe,  that  I  will  not  hold  myself  ready  to  be 
butchered  for  his  sake,  and  that  if  he  wishes  to  keep 
me  from  removing,  we  will  see,  he  and  I,  to  whom  the 
field  will  remain."  ISTassau,  who  understood  this  answer 
still  less  than  the  first,  and  who  thought  that  Sickengen 
was  crossing  the  river  to  attack  him,  got  his  army  ready 
for  fight.  Sickengen  did  the  same  as  soon  as  he  had 
crossed  the  river.  Drums  and  trumpets  made  a  deafen- 
ing noise  from  both  sides,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  two 
armies  were  about  to  rush  upon  each  other. 

However  they  calmed  down,  but  the  two  generals, 
very  much  irritated,  would  neither  see  each  other,  nor 
speak,  for  eight  days,  and,  in  consequence,  both  left 
their  camps,  and  went  each  his  own  way.  Sickengen 
entered  Picardy,  and  pushed  his  way  to  Guise,  setting 
fire  to  everything  on  his  way. 

In  time  these  generals  were  reconciled,  but  it  was 
years  before  they  discovered  that  they  had  both  been 
equally  duped. 

It  was  a  miracle  that  the  bearer  of  the  letter  escaped 
from  the  danger  which  he  had  run,  but  he  had  the  good 
fortune  to  return  to  Mezieres,  where  he  gave  Bayard 
an  account  of  all  that  had  happened.  He  told  him 
that  he  had  been  arrested,  and  his  letter  taken  from 
him,  that  it  had  occasioned  much  noise  and  confusion, 
and  that  finally  the  enemies  had  soon  decamped. 

Bayard  split  his  sides  with  laughing  at  the  success  of 
his  stratagem,  and  in  the  excess  of  his  joy  he  said  : 
"As  they  would  not  open  fire,  I  will."  And  at  the 
same  moment  he  sent  five  or  six  volleys  of  cannon  into 
them  at  once.  Thus  the  siege  of  Mezieres  was  raised 
after  having  lasted  three  weeks,  during  which  the 
besiegers  had  lost  many  men  without  having  dared  to 
give  an  assault.     AVhen  the  king  heard  of  the  raising 


234  SPOTLESS   AND   FEARLESS. 

of  tlie  siege  of  Mezieres,  and  the  artifice  which  Bayard 
had  used,  he  felt  much  joy.  He  had  only  wished  for 
time  to  assemble  an  army,  which  he  could  oppose  to 
that  of  the  emperor;  and  Bayard  had  doubled  his  hopes 
in  procuring  him  this  satisfaction,  and  delivering  Cham- 
pagne for  him  so  well  that  the  royal  army  was  already 
on  the  frontier,  and  encamped  at  Fervagnes.  The 
king  went  to  join  it,  and  our  hero  also  went  there  to 
give  him  an  account  of  what  he  had  done,  and  on  the 
way  he  retook  Monzon. 


CHAPTER   XXY. 


AYARD  was  received  by  his  prince  with  man  j 
marks  of  friendship  and  incredible  praises. 
The  king  made  him  a  knight  of  his  order, 
and  gave  him,  by  an  unexampled  distinc- 
tion, a  company  of  100  picked  men-at-arms,  an  honour 
•which  only  belonged  to  princes  of  the  blood.  All 
France  resounded  with  the  praises  of  Bayard,  all 
agreeing  that  without  his  grand  resistance  at  Mezieres, 
the  army  of  Charles  V.  would  have  penetrated  into 
the  heart  of  the  kingdom  still  more  easily,  because  in 
his  seeming  security,  on  the  faith  of  the  peace,  Francis 
had  not  soldiers  enough  in  a  fit  condition  to  stop  40,000 
men ;  but  he  was  revenged  by  following  this  army 
into  Valenciennes,  and  if  the  Germans  under  Sicken- 
gen  had  done  much  damage  in  Picardy,  the  French 
rendered  them  double  payment  by  their  ravages  in 
Hainault. 

The  departure  of  Bayard  and  his  troops  from  the 
town  of  Mezieres  must  have  been  a  touching  sight. 
The  inhabitants  accompanied  them  a  lonj  way  with 
thanks  and  acclamations,  they  called  them  their  de- 
fenders, their  liberators,  and  kissed  the  anas  and  the 
coats  of  the  soldiers.  The  happy  event  wrs  celebrated 
in  the  town  every  year  till  the  time  of  the  revolution 


236  SPOTLESS   AND    FEARLESS. 

by  a  pompous  fete,  the  chief  part  of  the  ceremony 
being  the  eulogium  of  Bnyard. 

As  winter  approached,  the  king  went  to  Paris,  and 
Bayard  accompanied  him.  The  public  praises  were 
renewed  on  his  arrival ;  there  was  daily  a  concourse  of 
great  and  small  to  see  and  congratulate  him.  Finally 
the  French  parliament  put  the  finishing  stroke  to  our 
hero's  glory  by  sending  him  a  deputation  of  presidents 
and  councillors  to  compliment  him  upon  the  great 
service  that  he  had  just  rendered  to  the  king  and  the 
whole  kingdom. 

After  making  some  stay  at  Paris,  our  knight,  without 
fear,  and  without  reproach,  went  to  pass  the  winter  at 
Grenoble,  where  it  would  be  superfluous  to  tell  of  the 
reception  that  awaited  him,  and  the  fetes  that  were 
made  for  him.  Besides  his  quality  as  lieutenant-general 
of  the  province,  he  belonged  to  the  highest  nobility  of 
Dauphiny,  and  this  nobility  felt  it  an  honour  to  par- 
take of  the  laurels  with  which  he  was  crowned.  They 
disputed  as  to  who  should  have  him  in  his  turn,  and 
came  from  the  remotest  parts  of  the  province  to  see 
and  admire  him. 

In  the  following  spring,  the  king  being  at  Compiegne, 
received  news  that  the  Genoese  were  about  to  rise, 
and  that  it  would  be  as  well  to  send  a  wise  and  prudent 
officer  to  them  to  keep  them  to  their  duty.  Francis  I. 
was  not  long  in  deciding.  He  sent  at  once  to  Bayard, 
whose  wish  to  be  useful,  and  attachment  to  his  masters, 
he  knew.  When  he  had  arrived,  he  gave  him  his  com- 
mission and  his  orders,  and  finished  in  these  words  :  "  I 
beg  you  all  in  my  power  to  undertake  this  expedition 
for  love  of  me,  having  great  faith  in  your  presence." 

Bayard,  without  delay,  took  the  road  to  Grenoble, 
and  immediately  went  thence  to  Genoa,  where,  during 


LIFE   OF  BAYARD.  z-i^j 

his  stay,  not  only  was  everything  quiet,  but  he  made 
himself  esteemed  and  respected  by  all,  government, 
nobility,  and  common  people. 

He  had  brought  with  him  his  company  of  100  men- 
at-arms,  and  500  foot-soldiers,  and  he  was  accompanied 
by  a  number  of  gentlemen  of  the  province,  amongst 
others  by  Charles  Alleman,  by  Balthazar  de  Beaumont, 
and  the  Lord  of  Romaneche.  Having  passed  some 
time  at  Genoa,  he  went  to  join  the  Marshal  of  Foix, 
and  the  Lord  Don  Pedro  of  Navarre,  of  whom  we  have 
already  spoken,  and  who  had  passed  from  the  service 
of  Spain  to  that  of  the  king.  They  betook  themselves 
together  to  the  French  army  before  Milan,  under  the 
orders  of  the  famous  Lautrec,  also  Marshal  of  France. 

This  campaign  was  not  fortunate,  for  the  Swiss  hav- 
ing been  driven  back  at  the  first  attack  in  the  battle 
of  Bicoque,  refused  to  return  to  the  charge,  and,  a  few 
days  after,  went  back  to  their  own  country,  which  was 
the  reason  that  the  rest  of  the  troops  were  put  in 
garrison. 

Bayard  returned  to  the  frontier  of  the  Marquisate  of 
Saluces,  with  his  company  and  2000  foot-soldiers,  com- 
manded by  two  lords  of  Dauphiny,  Herculeys,  and 
Vatilien,  and  there  they  waited  till  the  enemy's  troops 
were  also  garrisoned.  Then  he  recrossed  the  mountains, 
and  went  to  Grenoble,  where  he  found  that  the  plague 
had  broken  out.  He  had  occasion  to  exercise  his  two 
favourite  virtues,  watchfulness  and  charity.  He  pro- 
vided for  all,  nourished,  at  his  expense,  the  poor  sick 
people,  or  those  suspected  of  being  ill,  and  assisted  them 
with  doctors,  surgeons,  and  medicine.  He  extended 
his  cares  and  benefits  to  the  monasteries  and  convents. 
In  short.  Bayard  was,  no  doubt,  the  cause  of  the  speedy 
cessation  of  this  horrible  scourge. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 


N  the  following  year  (1523)  the  king,  who 
had  determined  to  regain  his  Duchy  of 
Milan,  resolved  to  go  there  and  com- 
mand an  army  in  person ;  but  the  flight  of 
Charles,  Duke  of  Bourbon,  Constable  of  France,  who 
had  embraced  the  emperor's  cause,  obliged  him  to  change 
his  plans,  and  he  sent  William  Gouffier,  Lord  of  Bonivet, 
Admiral  of  France,  one  of  his  favourites,  to  command 
in  his  place.  Under  him  were  many  officers,  and 
especially  Bayard,  whom  he  had  no  wish  to  forget. 

Whilst  the  admiral  laid  siege  to  Milan,  the  knight 
marched  towards  Lodi  with  8000  foot- soldiers,  400 
men-at-arms,  and  eight  pieces  of  cannon.  His  plan 
was  to  surprise  the  Duke  of  Mantua,  Frederic  de 
Gonzagua,  who  had  taken  possession  of  it.  But  this 
prince  did  not  wait  for  him,  the  name  of  Bayard,  and 
the  knowledge  that  he  was  not  far  off,  was  enough  for 
him.  He  left  the  town  with  great  precipitation  by  the 
opposite  gate. 

Bayard  entered  Lodi  without  difficulty,  put  a  garrison 
there,  and  immediately  went  to  Cremona,  which  he 
besieged  and  cannonaded  under  the  eyes  of  the  Papal 
and  Venetian  troops,  who  dared  not  oppose  it;  and  he 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  239 

•would  have  made  himself  master  of  it  if  it  had  not  been 
for  the  continual  rain  and  storms  which  lasted  four  or 
five  days  -without  interruption,  so  that  he  was  obliged 
to  retire,  not  only  because  he  was  surrounded  by  the 
enemy,  but  because  he  feared  provisions  would  fail, 
but  little  as  he  had,  he  supplied  the  garrison  of  the 
castle,  which  was  on  the  king's  side,  both  with  men  and 
provisions. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  year  (1524),  the  king's 
army  before  Milan  became  weaker  daily,  while  that  of 
the  emperor  got  stronger.  The  Admiral  Bonivet  came 
to  establish  his  quarters  in  a  little  town  named  Biagras, 
and  ordered  Bayard  to  advance  to  a  small  village  quite 
close  to  Milan,  named  Eebec,  which  had  neither  walls, 
nor  ditches,  nor  barricades,  and  which  was  close  to  the 
camp  of  the  enemy.  He  gave  him  200  men-at-arms, 
and  the  2000  men  of  the  Lord  of  Lorges  to  keep  those 
in  the  town  on  the  alert,  to  cut  off  their  provisions,  and 
learn  their  news.  Bayard,  who,  during  the  whole  of 
his  life,  had  only  sought  for  occasions  to  serve  the 
king,  was  too  wide  awake  not  to  perceive  the  evident 
danger  of  the  commission,  he  explained  himself  clearly 
enough  to  the  general,  showed  him  that  the  place  was 
not  tenable,  and  that  the  half  of  the  army  was  not 
sufficient  to  guard  it,  and  that,  having  nothing  but 
shame  to  gain  there,  he  begged  him  to  reflect  before 
sending  him.  But  Bonivet,  to  quiet  him,  promised  to 
send  him  some  foot-soldiers  to  help  him,  assuring  him 
that  not  a  mouse  could  leave  Milan  that  his  spies  did 
not  inform  him  of  it.  Finally,  whether  by  Bonivet's 
fair  words,  or  his  authority,  he  betook  himself  with  his 
men  to  this  miserable  village  of  Bebec,  where  not  only 
was  there  no  fortification,  but  it  was  impossible  to  make 
any,  excepting  some  bai'riers  at  the  entrances. 


240  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

When  Bayard  had  arrived  there,  and  saw  for  himself 
the  danger  of  the  post  he  occupied,  he  wrote  letter 
after  letter,  asking  for  the  reinforcement  that  the 
admiral  had  promised  him,  and  which  he  never  sent. 
Then  he  no  longer  doubted  that  this  general  had  sent 
him  there  to  perish,  through  jealousy  or  some  other 
motive,  for  which  he  made  up  his  mind  to  challenge 
him  to  mortal  combat  sooner  or  later. 

The  Spanish  general,  Don  Ferdinand  Francis  d'Avalos, 
Marquis  of  Pescara,  had  a  soldier  named  Lupon,  of 
remarkable  strength,  and  swiftness  in  running,  who 
undertook  to  give  him  certain  news  of  the  state  of 
the  French  at  Rebec.  This  soldier,  accompanied  by 
a  single  arquebusier,  went,  unnoticed,  to  a  French  sen- 
tinel ;  he  took  the  man  round  the  waist,  put  him  on 
his  shoulders,  and  returned  as  swiftly  as  if  he  had 
had  nothing  to  carry.  They  discharged  some  arque- 
buses at  him,  but  his  comrade  prevented  his  being 
followed.  Lupon  took  the  Frenchman  to  the  Marquis 
of  Pescara,  and  stood  him  on  his  feet,  so  frightened  that 
he  was  not  able  to  speak.  He  was  a  man  very  much 
given  to  swearing ;  he  gave  himself  to  the  devil  a  hun- 
dred times  a  day ;  and  he  thought  now  that  the  devil 
had  taken  him  at  his  word,  and  come  to  fetch  him  away 
in  good  earnest. 

At  last,  when  he  had  recovered  from  his  fright,  with 
much  time  and  trouble,  he  informed  the  marquis  of 
Bayard's  position,  and  of  the  number  of  his  men.  Upon 
this  intelligence,  the  marquis  determined  to  surprise  the 
French  the  next  night,  and  take  our  hero  dead  or 
alive. 

He  put  in  the  fields,  between  twelve  and  one  in  the 
night,  7000  foot-soldiers  and  1500  men-at-arms,  guided 
by  the  men  of  the  village,  who  knew  all  the  avenues- 


LIFE    OF  BAYARD.  241 

Bayard,  who  could  not  be  easy  at  such  a  dangerous  post, 
had  watch  kept  in  the  night  by  half  his  men,  he  himself 
having  passed  three  nights  without  sleeping.  He  fell 
ill  with  cold,  and  fatigue,  and  uneasiness  of  mind,  and 
was  so  unwell  that  he  was  obliged  to  keep  his  room. 
He  ordered  some  of  his  captains  to  keep  watch  and  re- 
lieve each  other,  but  they  did  nothing  of  the  kind,  and 
went  to  bed,  only  leaving  three  or  four  miserable 
archers  on  guard.  The  Spanish,  who,  for  the  sake  of 
recognizing  each  other,  all  wore  shirts  outside  their 
coats,  approached  the  town,  astonished  at  not  meeting 
any  one.  Their  first  idea  was  that  Bayard,  informed  of 
their  plan,  had  retired  to  Biagras ;  but  having  gone 
about  a  hundred  steps  further  on,  they  found  the  archers 
keeping  watch,  who  immediately  fled,  crying,  "  Alarm ! 
alarm  ! "  The  Spaniards  followed  them,  and  were  at 
the  barriers  as  soon  as  they.  Bayard,  who  was  fully 
sensible  of  the  danger  he  was  in,  was  sleeping  fully 
dressed.  He  was  soon  astir  and  on  horseback,  and 
came  to  the  barrier  where  the  alarm  was,  accompanied 
by  five  or  six  of  his  men-at-arms.  A  moment  after 
Captain  de  Lorges  came  to  his  assistance  with  his  troop 
of  foot-soldiers,  who  did  wonders. 

During  the  attack  the  Spaniards  were  running  all  over 
the  village  to  find  Bayard's  lodging,  for  they  only  wanted 
to  obtain  possession  of  his  person,  and  if  they  had  been 
able  to  take  him  they  would  have  returned  as  satisfied 
as  if  they  had  gained  a  complete  victory.  All  the  while 
they  were  looking  for  him  he  was  defending  the  barrier, 
and  from  there  he  heard  the  noise  of  the  drum,  and 
judged  of  the  number  of  the  enemy's  foot-soldiers.  He 
resolved  to  retire  as  best  he  could,  and  said  to  the  Cap- 
tain de  Lorges  : — 

"  My  companion  and  friend,  our  numbers  are  so  un- 


242  SPOTLESS   AND   FEARLESS. 

equal  that  if  they  pass  the  barriers  we  are  all  lost.  Let  us 
leave  them  our  equipments,  and  save  the  men.  Draw 
your  men  off,  and  march  as  close  as  you  can,  and  I  with 
my  men-at-arms  will  form  the  rear-guard." 

All  that  was  well  and  successfully  executed,  with  a 
loss  of  only  nine  or  ten  men,  and  about  150  horses, 
which  were  left  to  the  enemy,  with  some  grooms. 

When  the  barrier  was  forced,  the  Spaniards  searched 
all  the  houses,  expecting  to  find  the  man  they  were  in 
search  of  there ;  but  Bayard  was  already  at  Biagras, 
where  he  had  high  words  with  the  admiral,  and  if  he 
had  lived,  he  would  certainly  have  taken  sword  in  hand 
against  him. 

A  little  after  this  check,  the  admiral,  who  had  not  suf- 
ficient forces  to  resist  those  of  the  emperor,  and  who, 
on  the  contrary,  saw  his  army  decreasing  every  day  by 
illness,  assembled  a  council  of  war,  of  which  the  result 
was  that  there  was  nothing  to  do  in  the  position  in  which 
they  found  themselves  but  to  retire.  They  settled  the 
order  of  the  retreat,  following  which,  the  admiral  and 
Bayard  kept  in  the  rear-guard,  and  so  intimidated  their 
enemies  that  they  dared  not  approach,  but  saluted  them 
from  a  distance,  by  discharging  muskets,  arquebuses, 
and  small  guns  at  them. 

The  next  day  the  French  continued  to  retreat,  and 
their  enemies  to  follow  them.  These  last  had  placed 
upon  the  two  borders  of  the  road  a  number  of  arque- 
busiers,  by  means  of  which  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing they  made  a  furious  charge,  in  which  the  Lord  of 
Vandenesse  was  wounded.  He  died  of  his  wound 
shortly  aftewards,  regretted  by  the  whole  army.  The 
admiral  received  a  wound  in  the  arm,  and  was  obliged 
to  be  placed  in  a  litter  and  taken  away,  leaving  the 
whole  command  to  Bayard,  to  whom  he  said  : — 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  243 

"  I  pray  and  conjure  you,  for  the  honour  and 
glory  of  the  French  name,  to  defend  the  artillery  and 
the  flags  to-day.  I  consign  them  entirely  to  your 
fidelity,  valour,  and  wise  conduct,  as  there  is  none  more 
capable  of  the  task  than  you  in  the  whole  of  the  king's 
army,  whether  for  bravery,  experience,  or  counsel." 

At  which  Bayard,  much  annoyed,  replied  that  he 
should  have  wished  for  thrs  honour  on  a  more  favour- 
able and  less  dangerous  occasion.  "  But,"  added  he, 
"  however  that  may  be,  I  assure  you  that  I  will  defend 
them  so  well  that  as  long  as  I  live  they  shall  never 
come  into  the  enemy's  power." 

Indeed,  for  two  hours  he  made  so  many  vigorous 
charges  on  the  Spaniards,  that  he  obliged  them  to  rejoin 
the  body  of  their  army,  and  then  he  returned  Avith  his 
men-at-arms  with  as  calm  an  air  and  as  composed  a  step 
as  if  he  had  been  walking  in  a  garden. 

The  artillery  and  the  flags  were  thrown  forward,  and 
in  safety,  when  at  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  an 
arquebus  was  fired,  the  stone  of  which  struck  Bayard 
across  the  loins,  and  completely  fractured  his  spine. 
"When  he  felt  the  blow,  his  first  cry  was,  "Jesus!" 
Then  he  added,  "  0  God  !  I  am  slain  !"  Then  he  kissed 
the  cross-hilt  of  his  sword,  using  it  as  a  crucifix.^  He 
changed  colour,  and  his  men,  seeing  him  stagger,  went 
to  him  and  wished  to  withdraw  him  from  the  fray. 
His  friend  D'Alegre  pressed  him  to  allow  them  to  do  so, 


'  The  Loyal  Servant  adds  that  Bayard  exclaimed :  "  3Ii<erere 
mei,  Deus,  secundum  magnam  misericordiam  tuum."  "  Have 
pity  on  me,  oh  God,  according  to  Thy  great  mercy."  Then, 
he  waxed  quite  pale,  as  one  swooning,  and  nearly  fell,  but  had 
still  strength  enough  to  grasp  the  saddle-bow,  and  remained 
in  this  posture  till  a  young  gentleman,  his  steward,  helped  him 
to  dismount,  and  placed  him  under  a  tree. 


244  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

but  he  would  not.  "It  is  all  over,"  he  said  to  them. 
"  I  am  a  dead  man,  and  do  not  wish  in  my  last  moments 
to  turn  my  back  to  the  enemy  for  the  first  time  in  my 
life."  He  had  still  strength  enough  left  to  order  them 
to  charge,  seeing  that  the  Spaniards  were  beginning  to 
advance.  Then  he  was  placed  by  some  Swiss  at  the 
foot  of  a  tree,  "  so  that,"  said  he,  "  I  may  have  my  face 
towards  the  enemy."  His  steward,  who  was  a  gentle- 
man of  Dauphiny,  named  Jacques  JeofTre  of  Milieu, 
was  bathed  in  tears  at  his  side,  as  well  as  his  other 
servants. 

Bayard  consoled  them  himself.  "  It  is,"  said  he, 
"  God's  will  to  take  me  to  Himself.  He  has  kept  me  in 
this  world  long  enough,  and  shown  me  more  goodness 
and  favour  than  I  have  deserved."  Then,  there  being 
no  priest,  he  confessed  to  his  gentleman,  whom  he 
begged  to  leave  him  where  he  was,  because  he  could 
not  be  moved  without  feeling  acute  pain.  The  Lord 
d' Alegre,  Provost  of  Paris,  asked  for  and  received  his  last 
wishes  ;  and  a  Swiss  captain  named  John  Diesbac  offered 
to  remove  him,  for  fei|r  that  he  should  fall  into  the 
enemy's  power,  but  he  replied  to  him  and  all  the  officers 
who  surrounded  him :  "  Let  me  devote  the  short  time 
that  remains  to  me  to  thinking  of  my  conscience. 
I  beg  you  all  to  leave  me,  for  fear  that  you  should  be 
made  prisoners ;  and  that  would  be  another  grief  for 
me.  I  am  dying  ;  you  cannot  relieve  me  in  any  way. 
All  I  ask  of  you,  Lord  d' Alegre,  is  to  assure  the  king 
that  I  die  his  servant  without  any  regret  but  my 
inability  to  render  him  further  services.  Give  my 
respects  to  my  lords  the  princes  of  France,  and  to  all 
the  gentlemen  and  captains.  And«iow,  good-bye,  my 
good  friends.     I  commend  to  you  the  care  of  my  soul." 


CHAPTER  XXVn. 


|T  that  moment  the  Marquis  of  Pescara^  ar- 
rived near  him,  and  with  tears  in  his  eves 
said  to  him  :  "  Would  to  God,  Lord  Bayard, 
that  I  might  have  given  all  the  blood  I 
could  lose  without  dying,  to  have  taken  you  prisoner  in 
good  health!  You  shall  know  how  much  T  have  always 
esteemed  your  person,  your  bravery,  and  all  the  virtues 
that  you  possess,  and  that  since  I  have  held  arms  I  have 
never  known  your  like." 

The  Lord  of  Pescara  had  his  own  tent  and  bed 
brought  immediately,  had  it  spread  close  by  the  dying 
man,  and  himself  helped  him  to  lie  upon  it,  kissing  his 
bands  the  while.  He  gave  him  a  guard,  so  that  he  should 
be  neither  crowded  nor  pressed  upon,  nor  annoyed  in 
any  way,  and  himself  brought  a  priest,  to  whom  Bayard 
confessed  with  perfect  consciousness  and  edifying  piety. 


'  The  Loyal  Servant  says  that  Pescara  quoted  a  Spanish 
proverb  in  reference  to  the  bravery  of  the  knight,  "  The  tri- 
bute of  praise  that  my  nation  paid  you  when  they  said, 
'  J//cc/ios  Grisones,  y  pocos  Bayardos^  (many  grey  horses,  but 
few  Bayards,  or  bay  ones),  was  not  undeservedly  bestowed." 
He  adds  that  there  were  not  six  persons  in  the  whole  Spanish 
camp  who  did  not  come  to  see  the  celebrated  knight. 


246  SFOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

"  O  generous  marquis  !  Worthy  of  eternal  memory. 
Posterity  shall  speak  of  you  as  long  as  the  name  of 
Bayard  exists,  and  declare  the  bravery  and  virtue  that 
rule  over  great  hearts,  even  when  they  are  in  the 
bosoms  of  our  enemies." 

All  the  Spanish  army  hastened,  both  small  and  great, 
to  come  and  admire  the  expiring  hero.  The  Constable 
of  Bourbon,  who,  as  we  have  said,  had  passed  into  the 
emperor's  service,  came  like  the  rest,  and  said  to  him : — 

"  Ah  !  Captain  Bayard,  how  troubled  I  am  to  see  you 
in  this  state.  I  have  always  loved  and  honoured  you 
for  the  great  prowess  and  wisdom  which  is  in  you.  Ah ! 
how  much  I  pity  you." 

Bayard  rallied  his  strength,  and  said  to  him  in  a 
steady  voice : — 

"  My  lord,  I  thank  you  ;  I  don't  pity  myself.  I  die  like 
an  honest  man.  I  die  serving  my  king.  You  are  the 
man  to  be  pitied,  for  bearing  arms  against  your  prince, 
your  country,  and  your  oath." 

The  constable  remained  some  time  with  him,  and 
spoke  of  his  reasons  for  leaving  the  kingdom  ;  but 
Bayard  exhorted  him  to  return  to  the  king,  for  that 
otherwise  he  would  remain  without  possessions  and  ho- 
nour all  his  life. 

Bayard  left  alone,  thought  only  of  his  approaching 
death;  he  recited  devotedly  the  "miserere,"  after  which 
he  prayed  aloud  as  follows  : — 

"  My  God,  who  hast  promised  a  refuge  in  Thy  mercy 
to  the  greatest  sinners  who  return  to  Thee  sincerely  and 
with  their  whole  hearts,  I  put  all  my  confidence  in  Thee 
and  all  my  hope  in  Thy  promises.  Thou  art  my  God, 
my  Creator,  my  Redeemer.  I  confess  I  have  mortally 
offended  Thee  and  that  a  thousand  years'  fasting  on 
bread  and  water  in  the  desert  would  not  atone  for  my 


LIFE   OF  BAYARD.  247 

faults  ;  but,  my  God,  Thou  knowest  that  I  had  resolved  to 
be  penitent  if  Thou  hadst  preserved  my  life.  I  acknow- 
ledge all  my  weakness — that  by  myself  I  should  never 
have  been  able  to  merit  an  entrance  into  Thy  paradise, 
and  that  no  creature  can  obtain  such  joy  but  through 
Thy  infinite  mercy.  .  .  .  My  God !  my  Father  !  for- 
get my  faults ;  only  listen  to  Thine  own  mercy  .... 
Let  Thy  justice  be  softened  by  the  merits  of  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ " 

Death  interrupted  his  words.  His  first  cry  when  he 
felt  himself  mortally  wounded  was  the  name  of  Jesus, 
and  it  was  while  invoking  this  adorable  name  that  our 
hero  gave  up  his  soul  to  his  Creator,  on  the  30th  of 
April,  1524,  aged  forty-eight  years. 

The  Spaniards  showed  as  sincere  a  regret  at  his  death 
as  the  whole  of  France  showed.  As  soon  as  he  was 
dead,  the  guard  that  the  IVIarquis  of  Pescara  had  given 
him  bore  him,  according  to  that  nobleman's  orders,  into 
the  nearest  church,  where  services  were  said  over  him 
for  two  days,  after  which  they  gave  the  body  to  his  gen- 
tleman  and  his  servants,  with  passports,  to  transport  it 
to  France. 

When  the  king  heard  of  the  death  of  Bayard  he  was 
sorely  afflicted  for  many  days,  and  paid  this  tribute  to 
him  :  "  We  have  lost,"  said  he,  "  a  great  captain,  whose 
name  alone  made  his  arms  feared  and  honoured.  Trulv, 
he  deserved  more  benefits  and  higher  charges  than  those 
he  had."  But  he  felt  the  loss  he  had  sustained  much  more 
acutely  in  the  month  of  February  following,  when,  after 
the  battle  of  Pavia,  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  empe- 
ror, and  led  into  Spain.  "  If  the  knight  Bayard,"  he 
said  to  the  Lord  of  Montchenu,  who  followed  him  into 
his  prison  in  Spain,  "  if  the  knight  Bayard,  who  was 
valiant  and  experienced,  had  been  alive  and  near  me, 


248  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

my  affairs  no  doubt  would  haije  been  in  better  order. 
I  should  have  taken  and  believed  in  bis  advice ;  I  should 
not  have  separated  my  army,  and  I  should  not  have  left 
my  entrenchment,  and  then  his  presence  would  have 
been  worth  a  hundred  captains  to  me,  he  had  gained  so 
much  confidence  amongst  us,  and  so  much  fear  from  our 
enemies.  Ah,  knight  Bayard !  how  I  miss  you !  I 
should  not  be  here  if  you  were  alive." 

The  body  of  our  hero  was  taken  to  France  into  the 
province  of  his  birth,  to  be  placed  there,  according  to 
his  last  wishes,  near  his  ancestors,  in  the  church  of 
Creinon.  The  procession  passed  through  Piedmont  and 
Savoy  ;  and  everywhere  the  Duke  of  Savoy  gave  orders 
that  it  should  be  received  with  the  same  honours  that 
they  would  have  paid  to  a  prince  of  the  blood,  that 
services  should  be  performed  for  him  in  all  the  churches 
on  the  road,  and  that  his  body  should  rest  there  at 
night. 

When  he  arrived  in  Dauphiny,  the  Court  of  Parlia- 
ment, the  Chamber  of  Exchequer,  with  the  nobility 
and  peasantry  of  Grenoble,  went  before  the  funeral 
to  within  half  a  league  of  the  town,  and  conducted  it 
into  the  cathedral  church,  where  the  next  day  they 
assisted  at  a  special  service,  "  non  ducali  modo  sed  regie 
apparatu,"  not  in  a  ducal,  but  even  in  a  kingly  manner. 
Afterwards  the  body  was  taken  not  to  Creinon,  as  he  had 
ordered,  but  to  half  a  league  from  the  town  to  a  convent 
founded  by  his  uncle,  Laurent  Alleman,  Bishop  of 
Grenoble,  and  he  was  accompanied  by  the  same  proces- 
sion that  honoured  his  arrival.  There  he  rests  under  a 
large  stone  at  the  foot  of  the  steps  of  the  chancel;  and 
on  the  right  hand  side,  above  a  door  of  entrance  to  the 
monastery  is  his  bust  in  white  marble,  wearing  the 
collar  of  his  order,  and  on  a  white  marble  slab  beneath 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  249 

there  is  a  Lfitln  epitaph,  which  the  reader  will  find  at 
the  end  of  this  volume. 

All  writers,  whether  while  Bavard  was  living  or  since 
his  death,  French,  German,  Spanish,  Italian,  or  those  of 
other  nations,  have  agreed,  without  a  single  exception,  to 
praise  him  for  all  the  virtues  that  can  adorn  humanity, 
and  which  were  all  assembled  in  him — piety,  charity, 
modesty,  generosity,  valour,  greatness  of  mind  in  dan- 
ger, goodness  in  victory,  disinterestedness,  the  talent  of 
obeying  and  commanding ;  also,  justice  in  his  advice, 
fertility  in  expedients,  fidelity  to  his  king,  his  country, 
and  his  duty :  he  had  all  these,  and  his  virtues  cannot 
be  better  expressed  than  by  the  surname  which  his 
own  age  decreed  to  him,  of  the  "  knight  without  fear  and 
without  reproach." 

We  cannot  refuse  ourselves  the  gratification  of 
analysing  closely  the  eulogium  which  ends  the  supple- 
ment of  the  President  D'Expilly. 

Bayard  was  born  with  all  the  virtues  and  without  any 
vice.  He  loved  and  feared  God,  always  had  recourse  to 
Him  in  his  troubles,  and  prayed  to  Him  assiduously 
night  and  morning,  always  wishing  to  be  alone  at  such 
times.  He  never  refused  to  assist  his  neighbour,  whe- 
ther by  service  or  money ;  and  this  he  always  did 
secretly  and  kindly.  The  poor  nobles  especially  never 
had  a  refusal  from  him,  whatever  they  asked  of  him. 
It  has  been  reckoned  that  he  married  during  his  life 
more  than  a  hundred  poor  orphan  girls,  gentle  and 
simple.  Widows  were  certain  to  obtain  help  and  con- 
solation from  him.  In  war,  he  remounted  one  man-at- 
arms  and  gave  his  clothes  to  another,  and  helped  to  pay 
the  debts  of  a  third,  and  yet  he  persuaded  them  that  it 
was  he  who  owed  gratitude  to  them.  He  had  profitable 
and  numerous  opportunities  of  obtaining  money  by  ran- 


250  SPOTLESS    AND    FEARLESS. 

soms  and  other  means  ;  but  he  distributed  all  and  kept 
none  for  himself.  He  never  left  a  lodging  in  a  conquered 
country  without  paying  for  what  his  men  had  taken, 
and  when  he  found  himself  in  company  with  certain 
nations  whose  custom  it  was  to  set  fire  to  the  places 
they  left,  he  always  stayed  until  last  to  preserve  them 
from  burning.  He  was  a  sworn  enemy  of  flatterers  and 
flattery ;  however  great  the  man  he  was  conversing  with 
he  never  spoke  anything  but  the  truth  to  him.  Slander 
was  odious  to  him ;  he  never  condescended  to  take  any 
part  in  it,  but  reproved  it  as  much  as  it  behoved  him 
to  do. 

Bayard  despised  riches  all  his  life,  and  had  little 
esteem  for  the  rich  if  they  were  not  good  also.  He 
hated  equally  the  hypocrite  and  the  boaster,  and 
punished  with  severity  those  who  left  their  flags  for  the 
sake  of  plunder.  To  show  his  bravery,  his  wisdom  in 
council,  his  prudence  in  action,  we  cannot  do  better 
than  refer  to  what  has  been  already  written  in  these 
pages.  He  had  passed  his  apprenticeship  to  arms  under 
the  celebrated  Captain  Louis  d'Ars  ;  so  he  all  his  life  paid 
him  as  much  respect  and  obedience  as  if  he  had  been  still 
his  master.  Finally,  we  must  conclude  our  eulogium 
by  saying  that  Bayard  was  not  one  of  those  who  com- 
menced well  and  slackened  as  they  proceeded,  nor  of 
the  men  who  terminate  their  career  more  honourably  than 
they  have  commenced  it.  His  virtues  appeared  in  child- 
hood ;  they  were  developed  as  he  grew  older ;  honours 
did  not  alter  them,  and  they  have  been  crowned  by  a 
glorious  death  and  a  renown  that  the  remotest  posterity 
will  always  respect. 

Bayard  was  never  actually  married ;  but  he  had  con- 
tracted verbally  and  by  letter  an  engagement  with  a 
beautiful  and  noble  young  lady  of  the  house  of  Treque, 


LIFE    OF   BAYARD.  251 

in  the  Duchy  of  Milan,  by  whom  he  had  a  natural 
daughter,  named  Jane  Terrail,  a  daughter  worthy  of  the 
most  virtuous  of  fathers. 

Bayard  was  tall,  upright,  and  not  too  stout ;  his  face 
was  fair,  with  a  fresh  colour,  and  his  eyes  were  black 
and  full  of  fire.  He  was  extremely  merry,  always  even- 
tempered,  and  his  conversation,  even  on  the  most  seri- 
ous occasions,  was  spiced  by  witty  remarks. 

He  hated  the  use  of  arquebuses,  as  if  he  had  foreseen 
that  he  was  doomed  to  die  by  one.  "  It  is  a  shame,"  he 
would  say,  "that  a  brave  man  should  be  exposed  to 
perish  by  a  miserable  rascal  from  which  one  cannot  de- 
fend oneself."  It  was  doubtless  for  this  reason  that  he 
seldom  gave  quarter  to  those  who  fell  into  his  hands 
using  that  weapon. 

In  short,  if  his  death  exactly  verified  the  horoscope 
of  the  astrologer  of  Carpi,  who  had  foretold,  in  1512, 
that  he  had  twelve  more  years  to  live,  the  rest  of  the 
prediction  was  not  less  true.  "  You  will  be  rich  in  ho- 
nour and  virtue.  .  .  .  You  willnot  have  many  of  fortune's 
goods.  .  .  .  Your  king  will  love  and  esteem  you ;  but  the 
envious  will  prevent  his  bestowing  riches  upon  you  and 
promoting  you  to  the  honours  that  you  have  deserved." 

He  was  not  born  rich,  and  only  increased  his  property 
by  the  acquisition  which  he  made  of  the  king's  domain, 
an  honorary  right.  This  was  a  portion  of  the  territory 
of  Avalon  that  he  bought  for  £4000  to  provide  his  lord- 
ship of  Bayard  with  a  jurisdiction ;  but  with  this  in- 
crease, all  that  he  left  at  his  death  was  not  worth  more 
than  £400  annually,  an  admirable  example  of  disin- 
terestedness in  a  man  who  had  been  nine  years  lieu- 
tenant-general for  the  king  in  a  large  province,  and  who 
had  handled  immense  sums  of  ransom  money.  But  he 
often  said,  "  What  the  gauntlet  gains  the  gorget  spends." 


252  SPOTLESS  AND  FEARLESS. 

The  President  of  Expilly  says  that  the  head  of  the 
Carthusian  friars  gave  orders  that  an  anniversary  in  per- 
petuity should  beheld  throughout  the  whole  of  the  order 
to  pray  for  the  repose  of  Bayard's  soul ;  but  the  order 
must  have  been  annulled,  for  it  was  never  executed.  I 
have  seen  (says  M.  de  Berville)  the  rituals  of  the  Car- 
thusian friars  in  several  of  their  houses,  and  no  mention 
is  made  of  such  a  command ;  so  the  writer  must  have 
been  uncertain  of  his  anecdote,  or  the  order  of  the  chief 
of  the  Carthusians  must  have  been  revoked. 


ADDITIOXAL   NOTES. 

LanaqiLenet. 

Lansquenet  was  a  common  German  foot-soldier.  The  word 
is  derived  either  from  lanze,  lauce ;  or  from  land,  land ;  and 
knichte,  knight. 


BaT/ard's  Ancestry. 

Aymond  du  Terrail,  father  of  the  chevalier,  was  noted  for  his 
great  stature  and  strength.  He  received  four  wounds,  and  lost 
an  arm,  in  the  battle  of  Guignegarte,  in  Picardy,  between 
Louis  XL  and  the  Archduke  of  Austria,  in  1479.  Pierre  du 
Terrail,  grandfather  of  the  good  knight,  whom  he  so  much 
resembled,  was  renowned  for  his  feats  of  arms,  and  was  sur- 
named,  "  the  sword  of  Terrail,"  Vepte  Terrail.  He  was  killed 
in  battle  at  Montlhery  in  1465.  Bayard's  great-grandfather 
was,  when  aged  sixty,  killed  at  Agincourt,  fighting  against  the 
English.  It  is  evident  that  the  Terrails  were  not  people  accus- 
tomed to  die  in  their  beds. 

His  great-great-grandfather,  Pierre  du  Terrail,  distinguished 
himself  in  various  battles  against  the  Flemish  and  English,  and 
in  1356  fell  by  the  side  of  the  French  King  John,  at  the  battle 
of  Poictiers. 

His  great-great-great-grandfather,  Robert  du  Terrail,  after  a 
life  spent  in  battles,  was  killed  in  action  against  Anne  V.  de 
Savoie  in  1337.  And  the  father  of  Robert's  grandfather,  fight- 
ing most  valiantly  with  his  son  at  the  battle  of  Tarey,  was  so 
wounded  that  he  died  in  1325. 


2  54  NOTES. 


Bayard's  sword. 

The  sword  of  Ba3'ard  is  in  possession  of  Sir  John  P.  Boileau, 
Bart.  On  it  are  two  legends :  "  Soli  Deo  gloria,"  and 
"  ViNCERE  AUT  MORS."  Edward  Cockburn  Kiudersley  engraves 
the  arms,  but  ignorantly  places  over  them  a  squire's  helmet. 
They  are,  Azure,  a  chief  argent,  charged  with  a  lion  issuant 
gules,  over  all  a  filet  or  bend  or.  A  shield  given  by  the  knight 
to  Henry  VIII.  at  the  field  of  the  cloth  of  gold  is  in  the  Guards' 
Chamber  at  Windsor  Castle. 


3Ien'at-arms. 

Each  company  consisted  of  100  lancers,  or  men-at-arms,  who 
were  all  gentlemen :  hence  they  often  refused  to  follow  inferior 
infantry.  A  very  few  men-atarms  often  appear  to  do  wonders; 
but  one  must  always  multiply  the  number  by  six,  for  each  lance 
was  attended  by  three  or  four  archers,  an  esquire,  and  a  page, 
all  duly  armed. 


Henri/  VIII.  offered  him  service. 

Pope  Julius  had  made  him  similar  proposals  in  lii03,  offering 
to  make  him  captain-general  of  the  Church.  Bayard  replied 
that  "  he  had  but  one  master  in  heaven,  which  was  God ;  and 
one  master  upon  earth,  which  was  the  King  of  France,  and 
that  he  would  never  serve  any  other."  Extract  from  the  History 
of  Bayard  by  Champier. 


Grande  huffe. 

"  Le  bon  Chevalier  luy  vailla  si  grant  coup  sur  le  hault  de  sa 
grant  huffe."  The  grande  buflfe  was  a  kind  of  bevor,  the  part 
of  the  armour  for  the  head,  which  served  to  protect  the  lower 
part  of  the  face,  the  visor  being  properly  the  defence  of  the 
upper;  but  the  terms  are  frequently  confounded.  Sir  Samuel 
Meyrick  calls  it  the  mentoniere.  Florio,  in  his  Italian  dictionary, 
gives  buffa,  the  buflfie,  or  breathing  hole  of  a  casque  or  head- 
piece.    Southey  confounds  this  with  a  buff-coat. 


NOTES.  255 

Epitaph  of  Bayard. 
EPITAPH   OF   THE   GOOD   KNIGHT  BAYARD, 

IN    THE     CHURCH     OF     THE     3IINIMES,    NEAR     GRENOBLE. 

Lapis  hie  suberbit  tumulo,  non  titulo  ....  Ubi  sepultus  est 
heros  maximus,  suo  ipseraet  sepulchre  monumentum. 

D.  O.  M. 

Petrus  Terralhis,  Bayardus,  vix  puber,  addictus  castren- 
sibus  operis,  prgeclaie  factis  tempora  elusit,  virtutis  miraculo 
prselusit,  primo  ferme  militige  tyrocinio  magnus ;  prodigiosse 
fortitudinis,  qua  domi,  qua  furis  spectacula  juvenis  dedit ;  sed 
illustri  pr£esertim  Italiae  theatro  lauris  adtexta  lilia  geminum 
in  fronte  honorem  divisere.  Ubi  virum  animosa  maturitas  et 
experientia  tulerunt,  quoe  finxit  fortia  facta  vetustas,  fecit. 
Bayardum  Alcidi  confudit  impavidi  et  inculpati  equitis  cogno- 
mentum :  constantis  famte  vulgatu,  virtutis  appellationem  suo 
nomine  occupavit.  Tres  ilium  reges,  lustris  fere  septem,  gra- 
vibus  gerendi  belli  institutis,  suae  militijE  prjefectum  habuerunt. 
Illi  honorem  stipendio  potiorem  emerito,  victori  triumphalia 
decora  virtus  decreverat ;  sed  honoris  currus,  tot  victoriis  onus- 
tus,  nutavit,  virtutis  magnitudine  laboravit.  Regise  vicis,  in 
Delphinatiis  provincia  prsfecto,  ingens  honore  fuit  honore  eo 
non  egere  ;  non  concessum  regni  insigne,  sed  prsemium  ;  regem 
suura  gladii  succinctu  militise  inauguravit.  Illud  tandem  duoi 
semper  victori  deerat  ut  lethum  vinceret :  vicit :  attonitoe  mor- 
tis, nee  ausse  luctari,  feriendum  se  fulmineo  telo  objetit.  Eru- 
buit  hsec,  et  quod  victa,  et  quod  immatura.  Ille  equo  desiliens, 
victoriis  fessus,  sub  arbore  resedit,  et  vultu  in  hostem  converso, 
placidfe  oculos  et  diem  clausit  30  april  1524,  jetatis  48. 

Moriturum  monumentum  non  morituris  cineribus,  N.  Scipio 
de  Polloud,  D.  Saint-Agnin,  suis  sumptibus  accuravit. 


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Demy  8vo.  cloth.     10s.  M. 

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Favourite  English   Poems.       Complete  Edition.      Comprising   a 

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but  one  or  two  exceptions  unabridged,  from  Chaucer  to  Tennyson.  With 
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Scott,  and  engraved  by  J.  D.  Cooper,  atter  the  Etchings  by  Retszch. 
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A  New  and  Eevised  Edition  of  Mrs.  Palliser's  Book  of  Lace, 
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wards of  100  Illustrations  and  Coloured  Designs,  including  some  In- 
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Household  Edition  in  one  handsome  large  type  book  for  domestic  use. 
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The  Bayard  Series. 

CHOICE  COMPANIONABLE  PLEASURE  BOOKS  OF  LITERATURE 

FOR  CIRCULATION  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD, 

COMPRISING 

HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY,  TRAVEL,  ESSAYS,  NOVELETTES,  ETC. 

Which,  under  careful  editing,  will  be  very  choicely  printed,  with 
Vignette  Title-page,  Notes,  and  Index ;  the  aim  being  to  insure 
permanent  value,  as  well  as  present  attractiveness,  and  to  render 
each  A^olume  an  acquisition  to  the  libraries  of  a  new  generation  of 
readers.  16mo.  bound  flexible  in  cloth  extra,  gilt  edges,  with 
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Each  Volume,  complete  in  itself,  price  Half-a-crown. 

THE   STORY   OF  THE    CHEVALIER    BAYARD.     From 

the  French  of  the  Loyal  Servant,  M.  de  Berville,  and  others.     By  E. 
Walford.     With  Introduction  and  Notes  by  the  Editor. 
"  Praise  of  him  mnst  walk  the  earth 

For  ever,  and  to  noble  deeds  give  birth. 

This  is  the  happy  warrior ;  this  is  he 

That  every  man  in  arms  would  wish  to  be." — Wordsicorth. 

SAINT    LOUIS,   KING    OF  FRANCE.     The  curious  and 

characteristic  Life  of  this  Monarch  by   De  Joinville.      Translated  by 
James  Hutton. 

"  St.  Louis  and  his  compmiions,  as  described  hy  Joinville,  not  only  in 
their  glistening  armour,  but  in  their  every-day  attire,  are  brought  nearer 
to  us,  become  intelligible  to  us,  and  teach  us  lessons  of  hiimanity  which  ice 
can  learn  from  men  only,  and  not  from  saiiits  and  heroes.  Here  lies  the 
real  value  of  real  history.  It  widens  our  minds  and  our  hearts,  and  gives 
us  that  true  knowledge  of  the  world  and  of  human  nature  in  all  its  phases 
which  but  few  can  gain  i?i  the  short  span  of  their  own  life,  and  in  the  nar- 
row sphere  of  their  frieyids  and  enemies.  We  can  hardly  imagine  a  better 
book  for  boys  to  read  or  for  men  to  ponder  over." — Times. 

THE  ESSAYS  OF  ABRAHAM  COWLEY.     Comprising  all 

his  Prose  Works;  the  Celebrated  Chai-acter  of  Cromwell,  Cutter  of  Cole- 
man Street,  &c.  &c.    With  Life,  Notes,  and  Illustrations. 

"  Praised  in  his  day  as  a  great  Poet ;  the  head  of  the  school  of  poets 
called  metaphysical,  he  is  now  chiefly  known  by  those  prose  essays,  all  too 
short,  and  all  too  few,  which,  ichether  for  thought  or  for  expression,  have 
rarely  been  excelled  by  any  writer  in  any  language." — JSIary  Russell 
Mitford's  Recollections. 

ABDALLAH   AND   THE  FOUR-LEAVED   SHAMROCK. 

By  Edouard  Laboullaye,  of  the  French  Academy.     Translated  by  Mary 
L.  Booth. 

One  of  the  noblest  and  purest  French  stones  ever  written. 


List  of  Publications. 


The  Bayard  Series, — 

TABLE-TALK   AND   OPINIONS   OF  NAPOLEON   THE 

FIRST. 

A  compilation  from  the  best  sources  of  this  great  man's  shreivd  and 
often  prophetic  thoughts,  forming  the  best  inner  life  of  the  most  extraordi- 
niry  man  of  modern  times. 

THE  KING  AND  THE  COMMONS :  Cavalier  and  Puritan 
Poems.  Selected  and  Arranged  by  Henry  Morley,  Professor  of  Litera- 
ture, London  University. 

*^*  It  was  in  ivorking  on  this  volume  that  Mr.  Morley  discovered  the 
New  Poem  attributed  to  Milton.  A  facsimile  of  the  Poem  and  Signature 
J.  or  P.  M.,  icith  parallel  passages,  and  the  v:hole  of  the  evidence,  pro 
and  con,  is  given  in  the  prefatory  matter. 

VATHEK.     An  Oriental  Romance.     By  William  Beckford. 

"  Beckford' s  '  Vathek '  is  here  presented  as  one  of  the  beautifully  got- 
up  ivorks  included  in  Messrs.  Low  and  Co.'s  '  Bayard  Series,'  every  one 
of  which  is  a  gem,  and  the  '  Caliph  Vathek'  is,  perhaps,  the  gem  of  the 
collection." — Illustrated  Times. 

WORDS  OF  WELLINGTON.     Maxims  and  Opinions,  Sen- 

tences  and  Reflections,  of  the  Great  Duke,  gathered  from  his  Despatches, 
Letters  and  Speeches.  Printed  at  the  Chiswick  Press,  on  toned  paper, 
cloth  extra,  price  2s.  Gd. 

'•  One  of  the  best  books  that  could  be  put  into  the  hands  of  a  youth  to 
influence  him  for  good." — Notes  aud  Queries. 

RASSELAS,  PRINCE  OF  ABYSSINIA.     By  Dr.  Johnson. 

With  Introduction  by  the  Rev.  William  West,  B.A. 

"  We  are  glad  to  welcome  a  reprint  of  a  little  book  which  a  great  master 
of  English  prose  once  said,  '  icill  claim  perhaps  the  first  place  in  English 
composition  for  a  model  of  grave  and  majestic  language.'  It  contains  so 
many  grave  maodms,  so  many  hints  as  to  the  conduct  of  life,  and  so  much 
vigorous  and  suggestive  thought,  and  shrewd  insight  into  the  follies  and 
frailties,  the  greatness  and  weakness  of  human  nature,  that  it  is  just  one 
of  those  books  which,  like  '  Bacon's  Essays,'  we  read  again  and  again  with 
ever-increasing  profit  and  pleasure." — Examiner. 


"  '  The  Bayard  Series '  is  a  perfect  marvel  of  cheapness  and  of  exquisite 
taste  in  the  binding  and  getting  up.  We  hope  and  believe  that  these 
delicate  morsels  of  choice  literature  icill  be  widely  and  gratefully  icel- 
comed." — Nonconformist  "  Every  one  of  the  ivorks  included  in  this  series 
is  v:ell  worth  possessing,  and  the  whole  ivill  make  an  admirable  foundation 
for  the  library  of  a  studious  youth  of  polished  and  refined  tastes." — 
Illustrated  Times.  "  We  have  here  tico  more  volumes  of  the  series  ap- 
propriately called  the  '  Bayard,'  as  they  certainly  are  '  sans  reproche.' 
Of  convenient  size,  with  clear  typography,  and  tasteful  binding,  ice  know 
no  other  little  volumes  ichich  make  such  good  gift  books  for  persons  of 
mature  age." — Examiner.  "  If  the  publishers  go  on  as  they  have  begun, 
they  will  have  furnished  us  with  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  attractive 
series  of  books  that  have  ever  been  issued  from  the  press." — Sunday  Times. 
"  There  has,  perhaps,  never  been  produced  anything  more  admirable,  either 
as  regards  matter  or  manner." — Oxford  Times. 


Sampson  Low  and  Co.*s 


The  Gentle  Life  Series. 

I'rinted  in  Elzevir,  on  Toned  Paper,  and  handsomely  bound, 
forming  suitable  Volumes  for  Presents, 

Price  6s.  each;  or  in  calf  extra,  price  10s.  6(i. 


THE  GENTLE  LIFE.     Essays  in  Aid  of  the  Formation  of 
Character  of  Gentlemen  and  Gentlewomen.     Ninth  Edition. 

"  His  notion  of  a  gentleman  is  of  the  noblest  and  truest  order.  The 
volume  is  a  capital  specimen  of  xchat  may  be  done  by  honest  reason, 
high  feeling,  and  cultivated  intellect.  A  little  compeiidium  of  cheerful 
philosophy." — Daily  News.  "  Deserves  to  be  printed  in  letters  of  gold, 
and  circulated  in  every  house." — Chambers's  Journal.  "  27ie  uriter's 
object  is  to  teach  people  to  be  truthful,  sincere,  generous :  to  be  humble- 
minded,  but  bold  in  thought  and  action."  —Spectator.  "  It  is  with  the  more 
satisfaction  that  ice  meet  icith  a  neiv  essayist  icho  delights  without  the 
smallest  pedantry  to  quote  the  choicest  icisdom  of  our  forefathers,  and 
who  abides  by  those  old-fashioned  Christian  ideas  of  duty  which  Steele  and 
Addison,  iciis  arid  men  of  the  icorld,  were  not  ashamed  to  set  before  the 
young  Englishmen  of  1713." — London  Review. 

II. 

ABOUT  IN  THE  WORLD.     Essays  by  the  Author  of  <*  The 
Gentle  Life." 

"  It  is  not  easy  to  open  it  at  any  page  without  finding  some  happy  idea." 
Morning  Post.  '•  Another  characteristic  merit  of  these  essays  is,  that  they 
make  it  their  business,  geiitly  hut  firmly,  to  apjtly  the  qualifications  and  the 
corrections,  which  all  philanthropic  theories,  all  general  rules  or  maxims,  or 
principles,  staiid  in  need  of  before  you  can  make  them  work." — Literary 
Churchman. 

III. 
LIKE  UNTO  CHRIST.     A  new  translation  of  the  "  De  Imita- 
tione  Christi."  usually  ascribed  to  Thomas  a  Kempis.     With  a  Vignette 
from  an  Original  Drawing  by  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence.     Second  Edition. 

"  Think  of  the  little  work  of  Thomas  a  Kempis,  translated  into  a  hundred 
languages,  and  sold  ly  millions  of  copies,  and  ichich,  in  inmost  viomeids 
of  deep  thought,  men  make  the  guide  of  their  hearts,  and  the  friend  of 
their  closets." — Archbishop  of  York,  at  the  Literary  Fund,  1865. 

"  Evinces  independent  scholarship,  a  profound  feeling  for  the  original, 
and  a  minute  attentio7i  to  delicate  shades  of  expression,  ivhich  may  icell 
make  it  acceptable  even  to  those  who  can  enjoy  the  work  without  a  trans- 
lator's aid." — Nonconformist.  "  Cmdd  not  be  presented  in  a  more  exquisite 
form,  for  a  more  sightly  voluiue  ivas  never  seen." — Illustrated  London 
News.  "  The  preliminary  essay  is  well-written,  good,  and  interesting." — 
Saturday  Review. 


List  of  Publications. 


IV. 
FA^MILIAR    AVOKDS.      An  Index  Verborum,  or  Quotation 
Handbook.    Affordiup  an  immediate  Reference  to  Phrases  and  Sentences 
that  have  become  embedded  in  the  English  language.     Second  and  en- 
larged Edifion. 

"'  Should  be  on  every  library  table,  by  the  side  of '  Bogefs  Thesaurus.' ' 
— Daily  News.  '■'■Almost  every  familiar  quotation  is  to  be  found  in  this 
u-ork,  which  forms  a  book  of  reference  absolutely  indispensable  to  the  lite- 
rary man,  and  of  interest  and  service  to  the  pui  lie  generally.  Mr,  Frisuell 
has  our  best  thanks  for  his  painstaking,  laborious,  arid  conscientious 
work." — City  Press. 

V. 

ESSAYS  BY  MONTAIGNE.   Edited,  Compared,  Revised, and 

Annotated  by  the  Author  of  •'  The  Gentle  Life."   With  Vignette  Portrait. 
Second  Edition. 

"  We  should  be  glad  if  any  words  of  ours  could  help  to  bespeak  a  large 
circulation  for  t/iis  handsome  attractive  book  ;  and  v:ho  can  refuse  his 
homage  to  the  good-humoured  industry  of  the  editor." — Illustrated  Times. 
"  The  reader  really  gets  in  a  compact  form  all  of  the  charming,  chatty 
Montaigne  thd  he  needs  to  know." — Obsei-^-er.  "  This  edition  is  pure  of 
questionable  matter,  and  its  perusal  is  calculated  to  enrich  icithout  cor- 
rupting the  mind  of  the  reader." — Daily  News. 

VI. 

THE  COUNTESS  OF  PEMBROKE'S  ARCADIA.     Written 

by  Sir  Philip  Sidney.     Edited,  with  Notes.by  the  Author  of  "The  Gentle 
Life."     Dedicated,  by  permission,  to  the  Earl  of  Derby.     75.  6d. 

"■  All  the  best  things  in  the  Arcadia  are  retained  intact  in  Mr.  Fri.nceirs 
edition,  and  even  brought  into  greater  prominence  than  in  the  original,  by 
the  curtailment  of  some  of  its  inferior  portions,  and  the  omission  of  most  of 
its  eclogues  and  other  metrical  digressions" — Examiner.  *'  Jt  was  in  itself 
a  thing  so  interesting  as  a  development  of  English  literature,  that  v:e  are 
thankful  to  Mr.  Friswell  for  reproducing,  in  a  very  elegant  volume,  the 
chief  work  of  the  gallant  and  chivalrous,  the  gay  yet  learned  knight,  who 
■jiatronized  the  muse  of  Spe)iser,  and  fell  upon  the  bloody  field  of  ^utphen, 
leaving  behind  him  a  light  of  heroism  and  humane  compassion  ichich  icould 
shed  an  eternal  glory  on  his  name,  t'uough  all  he  ever  wrote  had  perished 
with  himself." — London  Review. 

VII. 

THE  GENTLE  LIFE.     Second  Series.    Third  Edition. 

"  There  is  the  same  mingled  poicer  and  simplicity  ichich  makes  the 
author  so  emph/itically  a  first-rate  essayist,  giving  a  fascination  in  each 
essay  which  will  make  this  volume  at  least  as  popular  as  its  elder  brother." 
— Star.  "  These  essays  are  amongst  the  best  in  our  language." — Public 
Opinion. 

VIII. 

VARIA  :   Readingrs  from  Rare  Books.     R-eprinted,  by  permis- 
sion, from  the  Saturday  B  vietv.  Spectator,  &c. 

"  The  books  discussed  in  this  volume  are  no  less  valuable  than  they  are 
rare,  but  life  is  7iot  long  enough  to  allow  a  reader  to  wade  through  such 
thick  folios,  arid  therefore  the  compiler  is  entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  the 
public  for  having  s  f ted  their  contents,  and  thereby  rendered  their  treasures 
avadable  to  the  general  reader." — Observer. 


Sampson  Low  and  Co^s. 


IX. 
A  CONCORDANCE  OK  VERBAL  INDEX  tc.  the  whole  of 

Milton's  Poetical  Works.     Comprising  upwards  of  20,000  Kelerences. 
By  Charles  D.  Cleveland,  LL.D.     With  Vignette  Portrait  of  Milton. 

•»*  This  work  affords  an  immediate  reference  to  any  passage  in  any 
edition  of  Milton's  Poems,  to  which  it  may  be  justly  termed  an  indis- 
pensable Appendix. 

"  By  the  admirers  of  Milton  the  book  tcill  be  highly  appreciated,  but  its 
chief  value  xcill,  if  we  mistake  not,  befuund  in  the  fact  that  it  is  a  compact 
word-book  of  the  English  Innguage." — Record.  "  An  invaluable  Index, 
ichich  the  publishers  have  done  a  public  sei-vice  in  reprinting." — Notes  and 
Queries. 

X. 
THE    SILENT  HOUR :  Essays,  Oricrinal   and    Selected.     By 
the  Author  of  "  The  Gentle  Life."     Second  Edition. 

"  Out  of  twenty  Essays  five  are  from  the  Editor's  pen,  and  he  has  se- 
lected the  rest  from  the  writings  of  Barrow,  Baxter,  Sherlock,  Massillon, 
Latimer,  Sandys,  Jeremy  Taylor,  Buskin,  and  Jzaac  Walton.  The  se- 
lections have  been  made  ivith  taste  and  judgment,  aiid  the  Editor's  oicn 
contributions  are  not  unworthy  in  themselves  of  a  place  in  such  dis- 
tinguished company.  The  volume  is  avoicedly  meant  'for  Sunday  reading, 
and  those  ivho  have  7iot  access  to  the  originals  of  great  authors  may  do 
worse  on  Sunday  or  any  other  afternoon,  than  fall  back  upon  the  '  Silent 
Hour'  aJid  the  golden  icords  of  Jeremy  Taylor  aiid  Massillon.  All  who 
possess  the  '  Geyitle  Life '  should  own  this  volume." — Standard. 

XI. 

ESSAYS  ON  ENGLISH  WRITERS,  for  the  Self-improve- 
ment  of  Students  in  English  Literature. 

"  The  author  has  a  distinct  purpose  and  a  proper  and  ?ioble  ambition  to 
win  the  young  to  the  pure  and  noble  study  of  our  glorious  English  literature. 
The  book  is  too  good  intrinsically  not  to  command  a  wide  and  increasing 
circzdation,  and  its  style  is  so  jyleasant  and  lively  that  it  will  find  many 
readers  among  the  educated  classes,  as  well  as  among  self -helpers.  To  ail 
(both  men  and  women)  icho  have  neglected  to  read  and  study  their  native 
literature  v:e  would  certainly  suggest  the  volume  before  us  as  a  fitting  in- 
troduction."— Examiner. 

XII. 

OTHER    PEOPLE'S     WINDOWS.      By  J.  Hain  Friswell. 

Second  Edition. 

"  The  old  project  of  a  tcindow  in  the  bosom  to  render  the  soul  of  man 
visible,  is  ivhat  every  honest  fellow  has  a  manifold  reason  to  wish 
/or."— Pope's  Letters,  Dec.  12,  1718. 

"  The  chapters  are  so  lively  in  themselves,  so  mingled  with  shreivd  vieics 
ofhximan  nature,  so  full  of  illustrative  anecdotes,  that  the  reader  cannot 
fail  to  be  amused.  Written  icith  remarkable  power  and  effect.  '  Other 
People's  Windoics '  is  distinguished  by  original  and  keen  observation  of 
life,  as  well  as  by  lively  and  versatile  power  of  narration." — IMorning  Post. 
"  We  have  not  read  a  cleverer  or  more  entertai7iing  book  for  a  long  time." 
Observer.  "  Some  of  the  little  stories  are  very  graceful  and  tender,  but 
Mr.  Friswell's  style  is  ahvays  bnght  and  pleasant,  and  '  Other  People's 
W^indows '  is  just  the  book  to  lie  upon  the  drawing-room  table,  and  be  read 
by  snatches  at  idle  ?Homeni5."— Guardian. 


List  of  Publications. 


LITERATURE,     'WORKS     OF      REFERENCE,    ETC. 

^HE  Origin  and  History  of  the  English  Language,  and 
of  the  early  literature  it  embodies.  By  the  Hon.  George  P. 
Marsh.  U.  S.  Minister  at  Turin,  Author  of  "  Lectures  on  the 
Engli.^h  Language."    8vo.  cloth  extra,  165. 

Lectures  on  the  English  Language;  forming  the  Introductory 
Series  to  the  foregoing  Work.  By  the  same  Author.  8vo.  Cloth,  16.'. 
This  is  the  only  author's  edition. 

Man  and  Nature  ;  or,  Physical  Geography  as  Modified  by  Human 
Action.  By  George  P.  Marsh,  Author  of  "  Lectures  on  the  English  Lan- 
guage," &c.     8vo.  cloth,  14s. 

"  Mr.  Marsh,  irell  known  as  the  author  of  two  of  the  most  scholarly 
works  yet  published  on  the  English  language,  sets  himself  in  excellent 
spirit,  and  icith  immense  learning,  to  indicate  the  character,  and,  approxi- 
mately, the  extent  of  the  changes  produced  by  human  action  in  the  physical 
condition  of  the  globe  v:e  inhabit.  The  whole  of  Mr.  Marsh's  book  is  an 
eloquent  showing  of  the  duty  of  care  in  the  establishment  of  harmony 
between  man's  life  and  the  forces  of  nature,  so  as  to  bring  to  their  highest 
points  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  vigour  of  the  animal  life,  and  the  salu'/rity 
of  the  climate,  on  ichich  we  have  to  depend  for  the  physical  tcell-being  of 
mankind." — Examiner. 

Her  Majesty's  Mails:  a  History  of  the  Post  Office,  and  an 
Industrial  Account  of  its  Present  Condition.  By  Wm.  Lewins.  of  the 
General  Post  Office.  2ud  Edition,  revised  and  enlarged,  with  a  Photo- 
graphic Portrait  of  Sir  Rowland  Hill.     Small  post  Svo.  6s. 

A  History  of  Banks  for  Savings  ;  including  a  full  account  of  the 
origin  and  progress  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  recent  prudential  measures.  By 
William  Lewins,  Author  of  "  Her  Majesty's  Mails."     8vo.  cloth.     12s. 

The  English  Catalogue  of  Books  :  giving  the  date  of  publication 
of  every  book  published  from  18'io  to  1S63,  in  addition  to  the  title,  size, 
price,  and  publisher,  in  one  alphabet.  An  entirely  new  work,  combining 
the  Copyi'ights  of  the  ••  London  Catalogue  "  and  the  "  British  Catalogue." 
One. thick  volume  of  900  pages,  half  morocco,  45s. 

*»*  The  Annual  Catalogue  of  Books  published  during  1868  with  Index 
of  Subjects.     Svo.     5s. 

Index  to  the  Subjects  of  Books  published  in  the  United  Kingdom 

during  the  last  Twenty  Years — 1837-1857.  Containing  as  many  as  74.000 
references,  under  subjects,  so  as  to  ensure  immediate  reference  to  the 
books  on  the  subject  required,  each  giving  title,  price,  publisher,  and 
date.  Two  valuable  Appendices  are  also  given — A.  containing  full  lists 
of  all  Libraries.  Collections,  Series,  and  Miscellanies — and  B.  a  List  of 
Literary  Societies,  Printing  Societies,  and  their  Issues.  One  vol.  royal 
Svo.      Morocco,  II.  6s. 

*jf*  Volume  II.  from  1857  in  Preparation. 

Outlines  of  Moral  Philosophy.  By  Dugald  Stewart,  Professor 
of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  with  3Iemoir,  &c. 
By  James  McCosh,  LL.D.     New  Edition,  12mo.  iJs,  6d. 


10  Sampson  Low  and  Co.^s 

A  Dictionary  of  Photography,  on  the  Basis  of  Sutton's  Dictionary. 
Rewi'itten  by  Pi'ofessDr  Dawson,  of  King's  College.  Editor  of  the  "  Journal 
of  Photography;"  and  Thomas  Suttoa,  B.A.,  Editor  of  "Photograph 
Notes."     Svo.  with  numerous  Illustrations.     8s.  6d. 

Dr.  Worcester's  New  and  Greatly  Enlarged  Dictionary  of  the 

English  Languasre.  Adapted  for  Library  or  College  Reference,  compris- 
ing 40,000  Words  more  than  Johnson's  Dictionary.  4to.  cloth,  1,834  pp. 
price  31.9.  6d.  well  bound. 

"  The  volumes  before  us  show  a  vast  amount  of  diligence;  but  with 
Webster  it  is  diligence  in  combination  with  fancifulness, — with  Wor- 
cester in  combination  wth  good  sense  and  judgment.  Worcester's  is  the 
soberer  and  safer  book, and  maybe  pronounced  the  best  existing  English 
Lexicon. " — Athenceuni. 

The  Publishers'  Circular,  and  General  Pecord  of  British  and 
Foreign  Literature ;  giving  a  transcript  of  the  title-page  of  every  work 
published  in  Great  Britain^  and  every  work  of  interest  published  abroad, 
with  lists  of  all  the  publishing  houses. 

Published  regularly  on  the  1st  and  15th  of  every  Month,  and  forwarded 
post  free  to  all  parts  of  the  world  on  payment  of  8s.  per  annum. 

A  Handbook  to  the  Charities  of  London.      By  Sampson  Low, 

Jun.  Comprising  an  Account  of  upwards  of  SCO  Institutions  chiefly  in 
London  and  its  Vicinity.  A  Guide  to  the  Benevolent  and  to  the  Unfor- 
tunate.    Cloth  limp.  Is.  ^d. 

Prince  Albert's  Golden  Precepts.  Second  Edition,  with  Photo- 
graph. A  Memorial  of  the  Prince  Consort :  comprising  Maxims  and 
Extracts  from  Addresses  of  His  late  Royal  Highness.  Many  now  for 
the  first  time  collected  and  carefully  arranged.  With  an  Index.  Royal 
16mo.  beautifully  printed  on  toned  paper,  cloth,  gilt  edges,  2s.  6d. 

Our  Little  Ones  in  Heaven :  Thoughts  in  Prose  and  Verse,  se 
lected  from  the  Writings  of  favourite  Authors;  with  Frontispiece  after 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds.     Fcap.  8vo.  cloth  extra.     Second  Edition.     3s.  6rf. 


BIOGRAPHY,    TRAVEL,    AND    ADVENTURE. 

2:£^-^^HE  Life  of  John  James  Audubon,  the  Naturalist,  Id- 
^"^  fA/ito         eluding   his   Romantic    Adventures    in    the    back    woods    of 


^    j'^J         America,    Correspondence   with    celebrated   Europeans,    &c 
"^j  v/j^         Edited,  from  materials  supplied  by  his  w' '        '       '  '      '  " 
S-^^^fe»         chanan.     8vo.     With  portraits,  price  15s. 


"  A  readable  book,  with  many  interesting  and  some  thrilling  pages  in 
jY."_Athenaeum.  '•  From  first  to  last,  the  biography  teems  with  interesting 
adventures,  ivith  amusing  or  perilous  incidents,  7cith  ciirioiis  gossip,  with 
picturesque  description." — Daily  News.  '*  But,  as  ice  have  said,  Audubon 
coidd  icrite  as  well  as  draw ;  and  while  his  portfolio  was  a  cause  of  wonder 
to  even  such  men  as  Cuvicr,  Wilson,  and  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  his  diary 
contained  a  number  of  spirited  sketches  of  the  places  he  had  visited,  ichich 
cannot  fail  to  interest  and  even  to  delight  the  rtat^er."— Examiner. 


lAst  of  Publications.  1 1 


Leopold  the  First,  King  of  the  Belgians;  fmm  unpublished 
documents,  by  Theodore  Juste.     Translated  by  Robert  Black,  M.A. 

"  A  readable  biography  of  the  icise  and  good  King  Leopold  is  certain  to 
be  read  in  England." — Daily  News.  "  A  more  important  contribution  to 
historical  literature  has  not  for  a  long  uhile  been  furnished." — Bell's 
Messenger.  "  Of  great  value  to  the  future  historian,  and  icill  interest 
politicijins  even  now." — Spectator.  "  The  subject  is  of  interest,  and  the 
stoiy  is  narrated  icithout  excess  of  enthusiasm  or  depreciation.  The  trans- 
lation by  Mr.  Black  is  executed  icith  correctness,  yet  yiot  icithout  a  grace- 
ful ease.  This  end  is  not  often  attained  in  translations  so  nearly  verbal  as 
this ;  the  book  itself  deserves  to  become  popular  in  England." — AtheuEenm. 

Fredrika  Bremer's  Life,  Letters,  and  Posthumous  "Works. 
Edited  by  her  sister,  Charlotte  Bremer;  translated  from  the  Swedish 
by  Fred.  Milow.     Post  8vo.  cloth.     10s.  6c/. 

The   Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Emperor   Maximilian :  an  Authentic 

History  of  the  Mexican  Empire,  1S61-7.  Together  with  the  Imperial 
Correspondence.     With  Portrait,  8vo.  price  IO5.  Qd. 

Madame  Recamier,  ISEeraoirs  and  Correspondence  of.  Trans- 
lated from  the  French  and  edited  by  J.  M.  Luyster.  With  Portrait. 
Crown  8ro.  7s.  M. 

Plutarch's  Lives.  An  entirely  new  Library  Edition,  carefully 
revised  and  corrected,  with  some  Original  Translations  by  the  Editor. 
Edited  by  A.  H.  Clough,  Esq.  sometime  Fellow  of  Oriel  College.  Oxford, 
and  late  Professor  ot  English  Language  and  Literature  at  University 
College.     5  vols.  8vo.  cloth.     21.  10s. 

Social  Life  of  the  Chinese :  a  Daguerreotype  of  Daily  Life  in 
China.  Condensed  from  the  Work  of'the  Rev.  J.  Doolittle,  by  the  Rer. 
Paxton  Hood.     With  above  100  Illustrations.       Post  Svo.  price  8s.  M. 

The  Open  Polar  Sea  :    a  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  of  Discovery 

towards  the  North  Pole.  By  Dr.  Isaac  I.  Hayes.'  An  entirely  new  and 
cheaper  edition.     With  Illustrations.     Small  post  Svo.     6s. 

The  Physical  Geography  of  the  Sea  and  its  Meteorology  ;  or,  the 

Economy  of  the  Sea  and  its  Adaptations,  its  Salts,  its  Waters,  its  Climates, 
its  Inhabitants,  and  whatever  there  may  be  of  general  interest  in  its  Com- 
mercial Uses  or  Industrial  Pursuits.  By  Commander  M.  F.  Maury,  LL.D 
New  Edition.     With  Charts.     Post  Svo.  cloth  extra. 

Captain  Hall's  Life  with  the  Esquimaux.  New  and  cheaper 
Edition,  with  Coloured  Engravings  and  upwards  of  100  Woodcuts.  With 
a  Map.  Price  7s.  M.  cloth  extra.  Forming  the  cheapest  and  most  popu- 
lar Edition  of  a  work  on  Arctic  Life  and  Exploration  ever  published. 

Christian  Heroes  in  the  Army  and  Navy.  By  Charles  Rogers, 
LL.D.  Author  cf  *'  Lyra  Britannica."     Crown  8vo.  3s.  I6d. 

The  Black  Country  and  its  Green  Border  Land ;  or.  Expedi- 
tions and  Explorations  round  Birmingham,  Wolverhampton,  &c.  By 
Elihu  Burritt.     Second  and  cheaper  edition,  post  Svo.  6s. 

A  Walk  from  London  to  John  O'Groats,  and  from  London  to 
the  Land's  End  and  Back.  With  Notes  by  the  Way.  By  Elihu  Burritt. 
Two  vols,  price  6s.  each,  with  Illnstratious. 


12  Sampson  Low  arid  Co.^s 


The  Voyage  Alone ;  a  Sail  in  the  "  Yawl,  Rob  Roy/'    By  John 
M'Gregor.     With  Illustrations.     Price  os. 

Also,  uniform,  by  the  same  Author,  uifh  Maps  and  Kumerous  Jlltis- 
trations,  price  on.  each. 

A  Thousand  Miles  in  the  Rob  Koy  Canoe,  on   Kivers    and  Lakes   of 
Europe.     Fiith  edition. 

The  Rob  Rov  on  the  Baltic.     A  Canoe  Vovace  in  Nor-vrav,  Sweden,  &c. 


HHW    BOOKS    FOR    YOUNG    PEOPLB. 

fgfiLD  Life  under  the  Equator.  Bv  Paul  Du  Chaillu. 
Author  of  "  DiscoTeries  in  Equatorial  Africa."  With  40 
Original  Illustrations,  price  ds. 

JI.  du  Chailhi's  name  icillbe  a  sufficient  guarantee  for  the  interest  of 
Wild  Life  under  the  Equator,  ichich  he  has  narrated  for  young  people  in 
a  very  readable  vobime." — Times.  "  M.  Du  Chaillu  proves  a  good  tcriter 
for  the  young,  and  he  has  skilfully  utilized  his  experience  for  their  benefit." 
— Economist.  "  The  author  possesses  an  immense  advantage  over  other 
u-riters  cf  Adventures  for  boys,  and  this  is  secure  for  a  popiUar  run:  it 
IS  at  once  light,  racy,  and  attractive.'' — Illustrated  Times- 

Also  by  the  same  Aitthor,  uniform. 

Stories  of  the  Gorilla  Country,  36  Illustrations.     Price  6s. 

"  Jt  would  be  hard  to  find  a  more  interestiiig  book  for  boys  than  this." — 
Times.  "  Toung  people  trill  obtain  from  it  a  very  considerable  amount 
of  information  touching  the  manners  and  customs,  irays  and  means  of 
Africans,  and  of  course  great  amusement  in  the  accowits  of  the  Gorilla. 
The  book  is  really  a  meritorious  work,  and  is  elegantly  got  up." — Athenaeum. 

Cast  Away  in  the  Cold.  An  Old  Man's  Story  of  a  Young  Man's 
Adventures.  By  the  Author  of  "  The  Open  Polar  Sea."  Wi^L  Illus- 
trations.    Small  Svo.  cloth  extra,  price  «>5. 

"  The  result  is  delightful.  A  story  of  adventure  of  the  most  telling 
local  colour  and  detail^ the  most  exciting  aanger,  and  ending  with  the  most 
natural  and  effective  escape.  There  is  an  air  of  veracity  and  reality 
about  the  tale  which  Capt.  Hayes  could  scarcely  help  gii-ing  to  an  Arctic 
adventure  cf  any  kind.  There  is  great  vivaci:y  and  piciuresqueness  in 
the  style,  the  illustratiojis  are  admirable,  and  there  is  a  novelty  in  the 
^denouement'  which  greatly  enhances  the  pleasure  icith  ichich  we  lay  the 
book  down.  This  story  of  the  two  Arctic  Crusoes  will  long  remain  one  of 
the  most  powerful  of  children's  stories,  as  it  assuredly  deserves  to  be  one 
of  the  most  popular." — Spectator. 

The  Silver  Skates;  a  Story  of  Holland  Life.  By  Mrs.  M.  A. 
Dodge.    Edited  bj  W.  H.  G.  Kingston.     Illusu-ated,  cloth  extra,  35.  (W. 

The  Yovage  of  the  Constance ;  a  tale  of  the  Polar  Seas.  By 
Mary' Gillies.     With  S  Illustratious  by  Charles  Keene.     Fcap.  3s.  6d. 


List  of  Pvhlications,  13 

Life  amonorst  the  North  and  S^uth  American  Indians.  Bv 
Greorse  Catlin.  And  Last  Ramble*  amoaffst  the  Indians  beyond  the 
Rocky  Monntains  and  the  Andes.  With  nnmeroas  Illostrations  by  the 
Author.     2  vols,  small  post  8vo.  bs.  each,  cloth  extra. 

"  An  admirable  book,  full  of  useful  information,  vcrapt  up  in  stories 
peculiarly  adapted  to  rouse  the  imagi)iation  and  stimulate  the  curiosity  of 
boys  and  girls.  To  compare  a  book  with  '  Robinson  Crusoe'  and  to  say 
that  it  sustains  such  comparison,  is  to  give  it  high  praise  indeed." — 
Athenaeum. 

Our  Salt  and  Fresh  Water  Tutors ;  a  Story  of  that  Good  Old 
Time— Our  School  Days  at  the  Cape.  Edited  by  W.  H.  G.  Kingston. 
With  Illustrations,  price  3s.  6rf. 

"  One  of  the  best  books  of  the  kind  that  the  season  has  given  us.  This 
little  book  is  to  be  commended  warmly." — Illustrated  Times. 

The  Boy's  Own  Book  of  Boats.     A  Description  of  every  Craft 
that  sails  upon   the  waters  ;  and  how  to   Make,  Rig,  and  Sail   Model 
Boats,  by  W.  H.  G.  Kingston,  with  numerous  IllusUations  by  E.  Weedon. 
Second  edition,  enlarged.     Fcap.  8to.  -is.  6d. 
"  This  well-written,  well-wrought  book." — Athenjetun. 

Also  by  the  same  Author, 
Ernest  Bracebridge  :  or.  Boys  Own  Book  of  Sports.     3s.  6rf. 
The  Fire  Ships.     A  Stoiy  of  the  Days  of  Lord  Cochrane,     os. 
The  Cruise  of  the  Frolic.     .5s. 
Jack  Buutline  :  the  Life  of  a  Sailor  Boy.    2s. 

The  Autobiography  of  a  Small  Boy.  By  the  Author  of*  School 
Days  at  Sasonhurst."     Fcap.  Svo.  cloth,  5s.  \_NettTly  ready. 

Also  now  ready. 
Alwyn  Morton,  his  School  and  his  Schoolfellows.     5.'. 
Stanton  Grange;  or.  Life  at  a  Tutor's.     By  the  Rev.  C.  J.  Atkinson.  5s. 

Phen<jmena  and  Laws  of  Heat :  a  Volume  of  Marvels  of  Science. 
By  Achille  Cazin.  Translated  and  Edited  by  Elihu  Rich.  With 
numerous  Illustrations.     Fcap.  Svo.  price  bs. 

Also,  uniform^  same  price. 

Marvels  of  Optics.    By  F.  Marion.     Edited  and  Translated  by  C.  W. 
Quin.     With  70  Illustrations.     5s. 

Marvels  of  Thunder  and  Lightning.     By  De  Fonvielle.     Edited  by  Dr. 
Phipson.     Full  of  llinstrations.     os. 

Stories  of  the  Great  Prairie.  From  the  Novels  of  J.  F.  Cooper. 
Illustrated.     Brice  5s. 

Also,  uniform,  same  price. 
Stories  of  the  Woods,  from  the  Adventures  of  Leather-Stocking. 
Stories  of  the  Sea.  from  Cooper's  Naval  Novels. 
The  Voyage  of  the  Constance.     By  Mary  Gillies.     Zs.  &d. 
The  Swiss  Family  Robin.*on,  and  Sequel.     In  I  vol.     3s.  6rf. 
The  Story  Without  an  End.     Translated  by  Sarah  Aostin.    2s.  &/. 


14  Sampson  Low  and  Co.^s 

Under  the  Waves  •,  or  the  Hermit  Crab  in  Society.  By  Annie 
E.  Ridley.  Impl.  16mo.  cloth  extra,  with  coloured  illustratioa  Cloth. 
4s. ;  gilt  edges,  4s.  6d. 

Also  beautifully  Illustrated : — 

Little  Bird  Red  and  Little  Bird  Blue.     Coloured,  5s. 
Snow-Flakes,  and  what  they  told  the  Children.     Coloured,  5s. 
Child's  Book  of  the  Sagacity  of  Animals.     5s. ;  or  coloured,  7s.  6d. 
Child's  Picture  Fable  Book.     5s.  ;  or  coloured,  7s.  M. 
Child's  Treasury  of  Story  Books.    5s. ;  or  coloured,  7s.  Gc/. 
The  Nursery  Playmate.     200  Pictures.    5s. ;  or  coloured,  9s. 

Adventures  on  the  Great  Huntincr-Grounds  of  the  World.  From 
the  Frence  of  Victor  Meunier.  With  additional  matter,  including  the 
Duke  of  Edinburgh's  Elephant  Hunt,  &c.  With  22  Engravings, 
price  5s. 

"  The  book  for  all  boys  in  tchom  the  love  of  travel  and  adventure  is 
strong.  They  will  find  here  plenty  to  amuse  them  and  much  to  insti~uct 
them  besides." — Times. 

Also,  lately  published. 
One  Thousand  Miles  in  the  Rob  Roy  Canoe.  By  John  Macgregor,  M.A.  os. 
The  Rob  Roy  on  the  Baltic.     By  the  same  Author.    5s. 
Sailing  Alone;  or,  1,500  Miles  Voyage  in  the  Yawl  Rob  Roy.     By  the 

same  Author.     5s. 
Golden  Hair;  aTaleof  the  Pilgrim  Fathers.  BySirLascelles  Wraxall.  .5s. 
Black  Panther  :  a  Boy's  Adventures  amongst  the  Red  Skins.     By  the 

same  Author.     5s. 

Anecdotes  of  the  Queen  and  Royal  Family  of  England.  Collected, 
arranged,  and  edited,  for  the  more  especial  use  of  Colonial  Readers,  by 
J.  George  Hodgins,  LL.B  ,  F.R.G.S.,  Deputy  Superintendent  of  Educa- 
tion forthe  Province  of  Ontario.     With  Illustrations.     Price  5s. 

Geoojaphy  for  my  Children.  By  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe. 
Author  of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  &c.  Arranged  and  Edited  by  an  Eng- 
lish Lady,  under  the  Direction  of  the  Authoress.  With  upwards  of  Fifty 
Illustrations.     Cloth  extra,  4s.  &d. 

Child's  Play.  Illustrated  with  Sixteen  Coloured  Drawings  by 
E.  V.  B.,  printed  in  fac-simile  by  W.  Dickes'  process,  and  ornamented 
with  Initial  Letters.  New  edition,  with  India  paper  tints,  royal  8vo. 
cloth  extra,  bevelled  cloth,  7s.  &d.  The  Original  Edition  of  this  work 
was  published  at  One  Guinea. 

Little  Gerty  5  or,  the  First  Prayer,  selected  and  abridged  from 
"  The  Lamplighter."  By  a  Lady.  Price  Qd.  Particularly  adapted 
for  a  Sunday  School  Gift  Book. 

Great  Fun  and  More  Fun  for  our  Little  Friends.  By  Harriet 
Myrtle.     With  Edward  Wehnert's  Pictures.     2  vols,  each  .5s. 


List  of  Publications.  15 


BEIiliES    LETTRES,    FICTION,    &c. 

_  HE  LOG  OF  MY  LEISURE  HOURS:    a  Story   of 
^(^      Real  Life.     B7  an  Old  Sailor,     b  vols,  post  8vo.  245. 

"  //  people  do  not  read  '  The  Log '  it  will  have  failed  as 
regards  them ;  but  it  is  a  success  in  every  sense  of  the  tcord  as 
regards  its  author.     It  deserves  to  succeed." — Moruing  Post. 

David  Gray  ;  and  otlier  Essays,  chiefly  on  Poetry.  By  Robert 
Bucjhauan.     In  one  vol.  leap.  8vo.  price  fo. 

The  Book  of  the  Sonnet;  being  Selections,  with  an  Essay  on 
Sonnets  and  Sonneteers.  B7  the  late  Leigh  Hunt.  Edited,  Irom  the 
original  MS.  with  Additions,  by  S.  Adams  Lee.     2  vols,  price  I80;. 

'*  Beading  a  book  of  this  sort  should  make  us  feel  proud  of  cur  language 
and  of  our  litei-ature,  and  proud  also  of  that  cultivated  common  nature 
which  can  raise  so  many  noble  thoughts  and  images  out  of  this  hard,  sullen 
world  into  a  thousinl  enduring  forms  of  beauty.  The  '  Book  of  the  Son- 
net' should  be  a  classic,  and  the  professor  as  icell  as  the  student  cf  English 
will  find  it  a  work  of  deep  interest  and  completeness." — London  Keview. 

Lyra  Sacra  Americana:  Gems  of  American  Poetr}',  selected 
with  Notes  and  Biographical  Sketches  by  C.  D.  Cleveland,  D.O.,  Antiior 
of  the  "  Milton  Coucoraance."     Icmo.,  cloth,  gilt  edges.     Price  45.  66^. 

Poems  of  the  Inner  Life.  Selected  chiefly  from  modern  Authors, 
by  permission.     Small  post  8vo.  65. ;  gilt  edges,  6s.  lod. 

English   and   Sccjtch    Ballads,   &.c.      An   extensive   Collection. 

With  Notices  ol'  the  kindred  Ballads  of  other  Nations.     Edited  by  F.  J. 
Child.     8  vols.  leap,  cloia,  os.  6<i  each 

The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table.  By  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes,  LL.D.  Popular  Edition,  Is.  Illustrated  Edition,  choicely 
printed,  cloth  extra,  6s. 

The  Professor  at  the  Breakfast  Table.  By  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes, 
Author  of  "  The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast-Table."  Cheap  Edition, 
fcap.  3s.  6rf. 

Bee-keeping.  By  "  The  Times  "  Bee-master.  Small  post  Svo. 
numerous  illustrations,  clotli,  5s. 

"  Uur  friend  the  liee-master  has  the  knack  of  exposition,  and  ktiotcs  how 
to  tell  a  story  well ;  over  and  above  which,  he  t"lls  a  story  so  that  thousands 
can  take  a  practical,  and  not  merely  a  speculative  interest  in  it." — Times. 

Queer  Little  People.      By  the  Author  of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin." 
Fcap.     Is.     Also  by  the  same  Author. 
The  Little  Foxes  that  Spoil  the  Grapes,  Is. 
House  and  Home  Papers,  Is. 

The  Pearl  of  Orr's  Islnud.  Illustrated  by  Gilbert,  5s. 
The  Miuibter's  Wooing.     lUusUated  by  Phiz,  5s. 


16        Sampson  Low  and  Co.^s  List  of  Publications. 

The  Story  of  Four  Little  Women :  Meg,  Joe,  Beth,  and  Am}'. 
By  Louisa  M.  Alcott.     With   Illustrations.      16ino,  cloth  .Ss.  6rf. 

'■'■  A  bright,  cheerful,  hen  It  hy  story — luith  a  tinge  of  thoughtful  gravity 
about  it  ichich  reminds  one  of  John  Bunynn.  JlJeg  going  to  i'aJiity  Fnir 
is  a  chapter  icritten  with  great  cleverness  and  a  jdcusant  humour." — 
Guardian. 

Also,  Entertaining  Stories  for  Young  Ladies,  3s,  M.  each,  cloth,  gilt  edges. 

Helen  Felton's  Question:  a  Book  for  Girls.     By  Agnes  \Yylde. 

Faith  Gartney's  Girlhood.     By  Mrs.  D.  T.  Whitney.     Seventh  thousand. 

The  Gayworthys.     By  the  same  Author.     'Ihird  Edition. 

A  Summer  in  Leslie  Goldthwaite's  Life.     By  the  same  Author. 

The  Masque  at  Ludlow.     By  the  Author  of  "  INIary  Powell." 

Miss  Biddy  Frobisher:  a  Salt  Water  Story.     By  the  same  Author. 

Selvaggio;  a  Story  of  Italy.  By  the  same  Author.    New  Edition. 

The  Journal  of  a  Waiting  (ientlewoman.  By  a  new  Author.  New  Edition 

The  Shady  Side  and  the  Sunny  Side.     Two  Tales  of  New  England, 

Marian  ;  or,  the  Light  of  Some  One's  Home.  By  Maud  Jeanne 
Franc.  ,  Small  post  Svo,,  5s, 

Also,  by  the  same  Author. 
Emily's  Choice  :  an  Australian  Tale.     5s. 
Vermont  Vale  :  or,  Home  Pictures  in  Australia.    5s. 

Tauchnitz's  English  Editions  of  German  Authors.  Each  volume 
cloth  flexible,  2s. ;  or  sewed,  Is,  M.     The  following  are  now  ready  : — 

1.  On  the  Heights.     By  B.  Auerbach.     3  vols. 

2.  In  the  Year  '13.     By  Fritz  Renter.     1  vol, 
8.  Faust,     By  Goethe,     I  vol, 

4.  Undine,  and  other  Tales.     By  Fouque,     1  vol. 

5    L'Arrabiata.     By  Paul  Heyse.     1  vol. 

(5.  The  Princess,  and  other  Tales.     By  Heinrjch  Zschokke.     1  vol. 

7.  Lessing's  Nathan  the  Wise. 

8.  Hacklander's  Behind  the  Counter,  translated  by  Mary  Howitt. 

Low's  Copyright  Cheap  Editions  of  American  Authors.  A 
thoroughly  good  and  cheap  series  of  editions,  which,  whilst  combining 
every  advantage  tiiat  can  be  secured  by  the  best  workmanship  at  the 
lowest  possible  rate,  will  possess  an  additional  claim  on  the  reading 
public  by  providing  for  the  remuneration  of  the  American  author  and 
the  legal  protection  of  the  English  publisher.     Ready  : — 

1.  Haunted  Hearts.     By  the  Author  of  "  The  Lamplighter." 

2.  The  Guardian  Angel,     By  "  The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table." 

3.  The  Minister's  Wooing.     By  the  Author  of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin." 

To  be  followed  by  a  New  Volume  on  the  first  of  every  alternate  month. 
Each  complete  in  itself,  printed  from  new  type,  with  Initial  Letters  and  Orna- 
ments, and  published  at  the  low  price  of  Is.  6d.  stiff  cover,  or  2s.  cloth. 

LONDON:    SAMPSON    LOW,   SON,    AND    MAESTON, 

CROWN  BUILDINGS,  188,  FLEET  STREET, 
English,  American,  and  Colonial  Booksellers  and  Publishers. 


Chiswick  Pre!?s:— Whittingham  and  Wilkins,  Tooks  Court,  Chancery  Lane. 


